U.S. depriving China of right to self-defense: FM
China's foreign ministry on Tuesday called recent U.S. moves in the South China Sea a self-orchestrated, self-directed and self-performed show, after a top U.S. admiral said in Beijing that the U.S. military will continue to operate wherever international law allows.
"The so-called issue of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is a pseudo-proposition … The international waterway is wide enough for the U.S. vessel. Why did it choose to take a detour to show its strength in waters off the relevant islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands and try to justify it in the name of safeguarding navigation freedom? It is blatant provocation," Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a daily briefing on Tuesday.
The U.S. is actually depriving China of its right to self-defense as a sovereign state, she noted.
The U.S. destroyer U.S.S Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Zhubi Reef, and a defense official said the mission, which lasted a few hours, passed by Meiji Reef, Reuters reported. China claims both reefs as part of its Nansha Islands.
Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, urged the U.S. to stop such wrong and dangerous practices when he met with Admiral Harry Harris, the U.S. Commander of the Pacific Command, on Tuesday afternoon, the People's Liberation Army Daily reported.
Harris said at the Stanford Center at Peking University on Tuesday, "Our military will continue to fly, sail, and operate whenever and wherever international law allows. The South China Sea is not - and will not - be an exception," AFP reported.
Harris also called for stronger military-to-military ties with Beijing while defending Washington's role in the South China Sea, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Zhang Junshe, a research fellow at the China Naval Research Institute, told the Global Times that the U.S. ships' passage should be innocent, but the U.S. has adversely influenced regional peace and stability. Innocent passage means a vessel is allowed to pass through the territorial waters of another state subject to certain restrictions.
The tough U.S. stance on the issue is echoing think tank and military calls for an intransigent attitude toward China prior to the presidential election, Liu Feng, an expert on South China Sea studies, told the Global Times.
Regular incursions planned
The U.S. Navy plans to conduct patrols within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands in the South China Sea about twice a quarter or "a little more than that" to remind China and other countries about U.S. rights under international law, a U.S. defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about Navy operational plans, was quoted by Reuters as saying on Monday.
Liu said both sides may reach a tacit agreement during the Harris visit, revealing the minimum acceptable military moves to each other, in a bid to avert misjudgment in the waters.
Liu predicted that the U.S. is unlikely to take more military actions than patrols, since the U.S. has attained its goals - not breaking its promises to its allies while maintaining sound ties with China.
Hua reiterated that China is firm in its determination and resolve to maintain its territorial sovereignty, security and legitimate maritime interests.
"We will resolutely respond to deliberate provocation from any country," said the spokesperson, adding that China will closely monitor the situation.
The U.S. and Japan are pushing to get concerns about the South China Sea included in a statement to be issued after regional defense talks in Malaysia, despite Chinese objections to any mention of the disputed waterway, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
A draft of the concluding statement being prepared by host Malaysia makes no mention of the South China Sea, focusing instead on terrorism and regional security cooperation.
As countries outside the South China Sea, the U.S. and Japan should respect the efforts of China and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to settle the disputes, Zhang said.
