The Chinese military released a statement on Wednesday claiming that a United States (US) military warship had trespassed its territorial waters off the Xisha Islands, or the Paracel Islands, in the South China Sea (SCS), which it said was another indication of the US’ attempts to “militarise the South China Sea through maritime hegemony.”
The Chinese military released a statement saying that its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had deployed its naval and air forces to track and monitor the guided-missile destroyer and eventually “warned it off.”
Senior Colonel Tian Junli, the spokesperson for the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, stressed that the USS Benfold (DDG-65) had “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security.”
The US has broken its public commitment of taking no position on sovereignty claims over the islands in the South China Sea, and sought to drive a wedge between countries and undermine peace and stability in the region. This is extremely irresponsible.
— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) July 13, 2022
Tian thus accused the US of violating international law and said the incident was proof that it is nothing but a “nothing but security risk maker” and a “destroyer of regional peace and stability.”
To this end, he announced that the Chinese troops will remain on “high alert.”
In response, the Commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, released a statement declaring that China’s version of the incident was “false” and ‘misrepresentative.’ It said that its vessel was merely conducting Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs). Thomas asserted that the operation was in compliance with international law, which allows such non-military “innocent passages” even in territorial waters.
On July 13 (local time) USS Benfold (DDG 65) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law. Read more: https://t.co/VbHoAZYhTc pic.twitter.com/7fL1MSQB50
— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) July 13, 2022
Thomas took aim at China’s “excessive and illegitimate maritime claims” in the SCS, saying it “stands in contrast to the United States’ adherence to international law and our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
The commander asserted that the FONOP “challenged the restrictions on innocent passage imposed” by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam as well as Beijing’s “claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands,” which he said violates the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. To this end, he said that China’s “unlawful and sweeping maritime claims” in the SCS “pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity” for littoral states in the region at large.
Keeping this in mind, Thomas underscored that the FONOP “demonstrated that these waters are beyond what [China] can lawfully claim as its territorial sea.” Furthermore, he stressed, “Nothing the PRC says otherwise will deter us.”
Updated table reflecting latest FONOP by USS Benfold in the Paracel Islands, based on the PLA Southern Theater Command's press release. This is the first reported FONOP in SCS after close to six months' hiatus. Usual caveats, all errors are mine alone. pic.twitter.com/tIzYnc4EOk
— Collin Koh 🇸🇬🇺🇦 (@CollinSLKoh) July 13, 2022
The Paracel Islands comprise 130 smaller coral islands and reefs situated in the north-western parts of the South China Sea. Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines have all claimed jurisdiction over the waters. However, they were seized by China in 1974 after it drove out the erstwhile South Vietnamese government. The islands currently house 1,400 PLA troops and several military installations, including an airport.
However, China’s claim over the islands has been previously invalidated by an international tribunal in 2016 in a case filed by the Philippines. However, Beijing, has not accepted the verdict, which was delivered six years ago on Monday.