China's SCS Strategy Thread
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If China strengthen those islands with missiles and fighter jets.
What is the next move by the US?
What is the next move by the US?
Nuclear war I suppose
Nuclear war I suppose
More like nuclear peace I'd say. First strike option is on the table only to keep technologically capable countries like Japan, Korea etc from going nuclear on their own.
This is what VoA said - 'within 22 kilometers (13.7 miles)'. Obviously they were trying to keep the powder dry at the same time.
The U.S. Defense Department said it sent a guided missile destroyer, the USS William Lawrence, to within 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) of Fiery Cross Reef, a land feature in the South China Sea.
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US, China Engage in New South China Sea Face-off
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VOA News
May 10, 2016 6:08 PM
The U.S. and China engaged in a new face-off Tuesday in the South China Sea, with an American warship sailing near disputed artificial islands claimed by Beijing, and China scrambling fighter jets to warn off the U.S. vessel.
The U.S. Defense Department said it sent a guided missile destroyer, the USS William Lawrence, to within 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) of Fiery Cross Reef, a land feature in the South China Sea.
In response, China said it dispatched two fighter jets and three vessels to monitor the U.S. ship's passage and warned it to leave the waters near the reef.
Fiery Cross is composed of about 280 hectares (690 acres) of mostly dredged material from the ocean floor, to which China and other nations lay claim. Beijing in the last several years has built a 3,000-meter runway there, opened a port and erected other military facilities.
FILE - The USS William P. Lawrence guided missile destroyer, below, awaits refueling from a tanker, above, off Coronado, Calif., Jan. 20, 2016.
FILE - The USS William P. Lawrence guided missile destroyer, below, awaits refueling from a tanker, above, off Coronado, Calif., Jan. 20, 2016.
In less than a year, the U.S. has conducted three so-called freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea to contest what it believes to be excessive claims to the territory by nearby countries.
The Lawrence operation was meant to "challenge excessive maritime claims of some claimants in the South China Sea," Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said in an emailed statement. "These excessive maritime claims are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention in that they purport to restrict the navigation rights that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise."
State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau stressed later that the operation challenged attempts by China, Taiwan and Vietnam to restrict navigational rights around the feature they claim. The operation is not singling out China, she said.
The Chinese foreign and defense ministries described the U.S. ship's maneuver as provocative and said the American operation was justification for Beijing's construction of military facilities on the island.
Although the United States is not a claimant to the sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea, senior officials have been saying it is vital to U.S. interests that various claimants pursue their claims peacefully and in accordance with international laws.
About $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year through the South China Sea, the majority of which China claims. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have claims to parts of the sea.
The U.S. Defense Department said it sent a guided missile destroyer, the USS William Lawrence, to within 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) of Fiery Cross Reef, a land feature in the South China Sea.
News / Asia
US, China Engage in New South China Sea Face-off
Comment
Share:
Fiery Cross Reef, in the South China Sea
Fiery Cross Reef, in the South China Sea
Pin It
RELATED ARTICLES
China Hopes for Progress with New Philippine Government
US Warship Makes ‘Freedom of Navigation' Tour in S. China Sea
Beijing Warns Critics Over South China Sea Dispute
VOA News
May 10, 2016 6:08 PM
The U.S. and China engaged in a new face-off Tuesday in the South China Sea, with an American warship sailing near disputed artificial islands claimed by Beijing, and China scrambling fighter jets to warn off the U.S. vessel.
The U.S. Defense Department said it sent a guided missile destroyer, the USS William Lawrence, to within 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) of Fiery Cross Reef, a land feature in the South China Sea.
In response, China said it dispatched two fighter jets and three vessels to monitor the U.S. ship's passage and warned it to leave the waters near the reef.
Fiery Cross is composed of about 280 hectares (690 acres) of mostly dredged material from the ocean floor, to which China and other nations lay claim. Beijing in the last several years has built a 3,000-meter runway there, opened a port and erected other military facilities.
FILE - The USS William P. Lawrence guided missile destroyer, below, awaits refueling from a tanker, above, off Coronado, Calif., Jan. 20, 2016.
FILE - The USS William P. Lawrence guided missile destroyer, below, awaits refueling from a tanker, above, off Coronado, Calif., Jan. 20, 2016.
In less than a year, the U.S. has conducted three so-called freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea to contest what it believes to be excessive claims to the territory by nearby countries.
The Lawrence operation was meant to "challenge excessive maritime claims of some claimants in the South China Sea," Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said in an emailed statement. "These excessive maritime claims are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention in that they purport to restrict the navigation rights that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise."
State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau stressed later that the operation challenged attempts by China, Taiwan and Vietnam to restrict navigational rights around the feature they claim. The operation is not singling out China, she said.
The Chinese foreign and defense ministries described the U.S. ship's maneuver as provocative and said the American operation was justification for Beijing's construction of military facilities on the island.
Although the United States is not a claimant to the sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea, senior officials have been saying it is vital to U.S. interests that various claimants pursue their claims peacefully and in accordance with international laws.
About $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year through the South China Sea, the majority of which China claims. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have claims to parts of the sea.
It's barely within 12 nautical miles, 13.7 miles would give us 11.90497 nautical miles.
If she was cruising at 20, it's less than 3 seconds to cover that small distance, wind and wave can drift her more than that in an hour.
This FONOP is actually a joke. It's more like a navigation game of chicken to provoke China.
"USS William P. Lawrence exercised the right of innocent passage while transiting inside 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef, a high-tide feature that is occupied by China, but also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam," a Pentagon statement said.
So it is an innocent passage after all. They got out after China shooed them away. Does that mean they acquiesced and tacitly accept China sovereignty over the 12 miles? It does seem to be so.
U.S. destroyer sails near disputed Chinese island
By Brad Lendon and Jim Sciutto, CNN
Updated 6:18 PM ET, Tue May 10, 2016
U.S. warship was exercising right of "innocent passage," the Pentagon says
Three Chinese planes and three Chinese ships were dispatched to the area
China says the U.S. move justifies Beijing building military facilities on disputed islands
(CNN)The U.S. Navy on Tuesday sent a guided missile destroyer within 12 miles of a disputed island in the South China Sea where China has built an airstrip -- prompting China to scramble fighter jets and dispatch warships to "expel" the American ship.
"USS William P. Lawrence exercised the right of innocent passage while transiting inside 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef, a high-tide feature that is occupied by China, but also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam," a Pentagon statement said.
"This operation challenged attempts by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam to restrict navigation rights around the features they claim ... contrary to international law," the statement continued.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 12 nautical miles is considered the limit at which a nation's rule extends off its shores.
The Law of the Sea defines "innocent passage" as a transit in which a ship does not conduct any military, commercial or research activities.
The Pentagon statement said the U.S. did not notify any of the countries involved about the destroyer's transit in advance.
The guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence transits the Philippine Sea earlier this year.
The guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence transits the Philippine Sea earlier this year.
Chinese vessels challenged the Lawrence a dozen times by radio, a U.S. official said, but the Chinese ships did not come as close to the U.S. ship as they had during previous times the U.S. sent ships through waters near disputed islands, including Fiery Cross Reef, which is in the Spratly Islands.
"This operation demonstrates, as President Obama has stated, that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. That is true in the South China Sea as in other places around the globe," the Pentagon statement said.
The Chinese Defense Ministry reacted defiantly.
"The unauthorized entry by the U.S. warship into waters near China's Nansha Islands (which China calls the Spratlys) was an act of serious provocation," Senior Col. Yang Yujun, spokesman for China's Defense Ministry, said in a statement.
China dispatched two J-11 fighter jets, a Y-8 warning aircraft and three warships, a guided missile destroyer, a guided missile frigate and a frigate, to the area, Yang said.
They "promptly identified the U.S. warship and issued warnings to expel it from the area," Yang said.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman also criticized the U.S. Navy's move.
"The relevant Chinese department took measures of monitoring, tracking and warning in accordance with the law. I have to point out, this action by the U.S. side threatened China's sovereignty and security interests, endangered the staff and facilities on the reef, and damaged regional peace and stability," spokesman Lu Kang said.
The South China Sea is the subject of several rival -- and often messy -- territorial claims, with China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam disputing the sovereignty of several island chains and nearby waters.
Fiery Cross Reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands. In January, China said it had completed building a runway on the island, one of three it has been constructing in the South China Sea with dredged material.
So it is an innocent passage after all. They got out after China shooed them away. Does that mean they acquiesced and tacitly accept China sovereignty over the 12 miles? It does seem to be so.
U.S. destroyer sails near disputed Chinese island
By Brad Lendon and Jim Sciutto, CNN
Updated 6:18 PM ET, Tue May 10, 2016
U.S. warship was exercising right of "innocent passage," the Pentagon says
Three Chinese planes and three Chinese ships were dispatched to the area
China says the U.S. move justifies Beijing building military facilities on disputed islands
(CNN)The U.S. Navy on Tuesday sent a guided missile destroyer within 12 miles of a disputed island in the South China Sea where China has built an airstrip -- prompting China to scramble fighter jets and dispatch warships to "expel" the American ship.
"USS William P. Lawrence exercised the right of innocent passage while transiting inside 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef, a high-tide feature that is occupied by China, but also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam," a Pentagon statement said.
"This operation challenged attempts by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam to restrict navigation rights around the features they claim ... contrary to international law," the statement continued.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 12 nautical miles is considered the limit at which a nation's rule extends off its shores.
The Law of the Sea defines "innocent passage" as a transit in which a ship does not conduct any military, commercial or research activities.
The Pentagon statement said the U.S. did not notify any of the countries involved about the destroyer's transit in advance.
The guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence transits the Philippine Sea earlier this year.
The guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence transits the Philippine Sea earlier this year.
Chinese vessels challenged the Lawrence a dozen times by radio, a U.S. official said, but the Chinese ships did not come as close to the U.S. ship as they had during previous times the U.S. sent ships through waters near disputed islands, including Fiery Cross Reef, which is in the Spratly Islands.
"This operation demonstrates, as President Obama has stated, that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. That is true in the South China Sea as in other places around the globe," the Pentagon statement said.
The Chinese Defense Ministry reacted defiantly.
"The unauthorized entry by the U.S. warship into waters near China's Nansha Islands (which China calls the Spratlys) was an act of serious provocation," Senior Col. Yang Yujun, spokesman for China's Defense Ministry, said in a statement.
China dispatched two J-11 fighter jets, a Y-8 warning aircraft and three warships, a guided missile destroyer, a guided missile frigate and a frigate, to the area, Yang said.
They "promptly identified the U.S. warship and issued warnings to expel it from the area," Yang said.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman also criticized the U.S. Navy's move.
"The relevant Chinese department took measures of monitoring, tracking and warning in accordance with the law. I have to point out, this action by the U.S. side threatened China's sovereignty and security interests, endangered the staff and facilities on the reef, and damaged regional peace and stability," spokesman Lu Kang said.
The South China Sea is the subject of several rival -- and often messy -- territorial claims, with China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam disputing the sovereignty of several island chains and nearby waters.
Fiery Cross Reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands. In January, China said it had completed building a runway on the island, one of three it has been constructing in the South China Sea with dredged material.
