U.S. Slams China For Forcing Ships Passing South China Sea To Register

The Pentagon on Wednesday dismissed Beijing’s new demand that all foreign ships entering the South China Sea must register with Chinese maritime authorities, calling it a “serious threat” to freedom of navigation and trade, Jacob Fromer reported for the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Photo Insert: Aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 fly over the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in the South China Sea

“The United States remains firm that any coastal state law or regulation must not infringe upon navigation and overflight rights enjoyed by all nations under international law,” said John Supple, a Pentagon spokesman, in response to questions about China’s decree this week.

“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims, including in the South China Sea, pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded lawful commerce, and the rights and interests of the South China Sea and other littoral nations,” he said.

The comments came two days after China announced that foreign vessels entering Chinese “territorial waters” would have to report their ship and cargo information to the country’s maritime authorities.

No country recognizes China’s claim that 90 percent of the South China Sea as its territory, noting that throughout its imperial history, China bever claimed sovereignty over the vast expanse.

Historical claims are meaningless in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) and the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague that threw out China’s territorial claims on Panatag Shoal, which is within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on July 12, 2016.

The rule is supposed to apply to the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the various islands and reefs dotted across the water that Beijing claims as its inalienable territory. China’s vast claims to the resource-rich waterways – among the busiest sea lanes in the world – have been a source of growing tension between Beijing, neighboring governments, and Washington for years.

Only China, which was never a maritime power, claims 90 percent of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan have competing claims in the South China Sea, and Japan and South Korea have their own disputes with Beijing in the East China Sea.

Five years ago, an international tribunal ruled that Beijing’s sweeping claims of almost the entire South China Sea had no legal basis.

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