China continues to assert territorial control in the South China Sea over international waters, freedom of navigation on the open seas, complaining about the USS Benfold conducting freedom of navigation operation [FONOP] in the South China Sea. China didn’t like when the Hague’s Internal Court of Arbitration ruled July 12, 2016 against China’s claims to the South China Sea. Six years later, China’s still asserts it rights to control international waters anywhere around the South China Sea. Pacific Rim countries complained about China building out military installations in the shallow atolls near the Spratly Islands. China criticized the USS Benfold for conducting freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. “Nothing the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] says will deter us,” said the U.S. Navy. U.S. Navy “is defending every nation’s right to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.”
U.S. rejects out-of-hand China’s claims to international navigation on the open seas. “Unlawful and sweeping maritime, claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral relations,” said the U.S. Navy. China reacted harshly to the USS Benfold traveling freely around Xisha or Paracel Islands, claiming that the U.S. Navy engaged in provocative actions. Hague’s International Court of Arbitration clearly ruled against China’s claims to the South China Sea yet they continue to assert claims to international waters beyond their sovereignty. “We solemnly demand that US side to immediately stop such provocative actives, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of all possible contingences,” said the Peoples Liberation Army [PLA] in response to the USS Benfold.
China likes to make up its own rules as if it operates independently of the international rules-based order. When it comes to freedom of navigation, China has been rebuked by the Hagues’s Internal Court of Arbitration. China talks of consequences for U.S. provocations but the U.S. simply wants to uphold freedom of navigation on the open seas, something China has no claim to despite trying to assert control over vast areas of the South China Sea. PLA Southern Theater Command Commander Tian Junli said the PLA takes his role of patrolling the South China Sea seriously. International incidents can take place because of misunderstandings of what’s permitted under the Hague’s 2016 ruling on the international rules of the sea. China thinks it can make up its own rules when it comes to international navigation, simply because the PLA asserts control over territory in the South China Sea.
Commander Junli said China takes seriously its role of maintain order in the South China Sea. “The troops of the PLA Southern Theater Command always stay on high alert and will take resolute actions to safeguard Chain’s sovereignty and security as well as the peace and stability in the South China Sea,” serving notice that the U.S. is unwanted in the region. China said it tracked the USS Benfold before approaching the warship and turning it away from mission. China said in “warned off” the Benfold. US Navy denied that the Benford was forced to stand down under Chinese pressure, saying it went about its business without incident. When Biden announced Oct. 11, 2021 a nuclear submarine deal with Australia, it did more than infuriate France. French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. stabbed France in the back, offering nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
China’s continued harassment of the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea stems from its rejection of the 2016 Hague’s ruling that guaranteed the United States the right to freedom of navigation on the open seas. China never accepted the ruling and patrols the South China Sea like an extension of China’s sovereignty. U.S. Navy rejects the idea that China forced the USS Benfold to change course, when Navy officials say that they did nothing of the sort. No one ‘warned it off,” said the U.S. Navy. China wants to push the U.S. and other sovereign sates around when it came to navigation on the open seas. “USS Benfold conducted this FONOP in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations in international waters,” said the U.S. Navy. China refuses to abide by the 2016 Hague ruling that said it built military installation illegally in international waters.
Whatever happens in Geneva tomorrow with Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Ukraine, China will continue to defy the rules-based-order as it applies to freedom of navigation on the open seas. China seas sovereignty beyond its territorial borders, building out military installations in international waters in the South China Sea. Whether or not the U.S. navy gets into a confrontation with the Chinese Navy is anyone’s guess. When an EP-3 Aires Surveillance plan was forced down Oct. 1, 2001 on Hainan Island in the South China Sea, it took a month before China released its 10-member crew. U.S. Navy officials should proceed with the utmost of caution with China, bullying its way around the South China Sea. Conducting Freedom of Navigation Operations, the U.S must keep China at arms length while it asserts freedom of navigation rights