SCMP COLUMNIST COUNSELS US: CLASH WITH CHINA IN SCS NOT WORTH IT

A columnist of the Jack Ma-owned South China Morning Post (SCMP) who is an adjunct senior scholar at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Haikou, China has warned the United States that its freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) in the disputed areas of the South China Sea (SCS) would not pressure China into abandoning its military and naval bases in seven atolls and reefs.

“US FONOPs purport to demonstrate and protect freedom of navigation and to challenge claims that violate that principle. But the US is disingenuously conflating freedom of commercial navigation with the freedom of military vessels to intimidate and spy on countries – in this case, China. The US knows China has never interfered with commercial navigation freedom, but it continues the charade to aggravate China and win support in the region and beyond,” Mark J. Valencia wrote for SCMP.

Such warship transits, which the US views as perfectly legal, also tread close to China’s “red line” claim of sovereignty over Taiwan – especially in conjunction with US arms sales to Taiwan and a visit by a US cabinet official, Valencia added. The US Navy said the transit showed “US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the same vague verbiage it uses to justify other provocations. Despite US denials, its freedom of navigation operations against China have always had a political purpose. They are not necessary to bolster the US legal position.

“Faced with claims it considers illegal, any country can effectively show non-acquiescence through verbal or written diplomatic communiqués – an option that seems sufficient for other nations, including the maritime powers whose rights the US claims to be protecting. Indeed, diplomatic protest rather than ‘gunboat diplomacy’ is more consonant with the United Nations Charter, which requires that its members “shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered,” he added. Warships that challenge territorial sea regimes could be seen as threatening the use of force against a state, which is a violation of the UN Charter. US FONOPS are ineffective in that they have neither changed China’s policies nor stopped Chinese actions that the US considers unlawful or “bullying.” Some observers also see them as wasteful, as the US Navy can better use the time to train for serious conflict, even as these FONOPS have been getting into China’s nerves and clashes are inevitable as China is building a Navy to compete with the US worldwide.