The United States kicked off 2018 by sending an unmistakable signal to China’s maritime ambitions in the South China Sea. The moves appear to be the first salvo in President Donald Trump’s new National Defense Strategy, which identifies China as a “strategic competitor.”
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is making visits this week to two key Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia and Vietnam, both of which are at loggerheads with Beijing over festering territorial disputes in the maritime region.
On Wednesday, Mattis praised Indonesia as the “maritime fulcrum of the Indo-Pacific”, while stating that the US supported Jakarta’s decision last year to rename Chinese-claimed maritime areas near the Natuna islands as the “North Natuna Sea.”
The energy-rich maritime zone lies in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but also overlaps with China’s expansive claim staked in its controversial nine-dash-line map.
Mattis met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, while Indonesia forces put on a lively display of force, including a demonstration that involved beheading live snakes and drinking their blood.
The US and Indonesia underlined their growing maritime security cooperation during the three-day visit, which Mattis characterized as “very successful” in a US Defense Department statement.
Mattis’ visit to Vietnam also aimed at underlining America’s commitment to deeper defense cooperation with another key Southeast Asian claimant in the South China Sea. Today, Mattis thanked Vietnam for its support of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, which he acknowledged has cost Hanoi in bilateral trade, namely cheap coal imports.
Hanoi increasingly views America as a crucial counterbalance to Chinese maritime ambitions in adjacent waters, particularly as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has failed to take a tougher collective position on the disputes.
The two sides also reportedly discussed freedom of navigation issues in the South China Sea, with a US emphasis on international rule of law and national sovereignty.
Just before Mattis’ arrival in the region, the US sent a strong signal in that direction. On January 20, the United States Navy deployed its guided missile destroyer USS Hopper within the 12-nautical mile radius of the Scarborough Shoal, a contested land feature in the South China Sea which has been under de facto control of China since 2012.
The shoal, which lies within the Philippines’ 200 nautical EEZ, is viewed by security analysts as a potential new flashpoint in the maritime area. The deployment was part of US’ Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs), which are aimed at challenging China’s maritime claims in the area.
In response, China accused the US of violating its “sovereignty” over the land feature, which has been declared as a “common fishing ground” by an Arbitral Tribunal at The Hague in mid-2016. China contends that the shoal is a full-fledged island capable of generating its own maritime jurisdictional zones.
A commentary in the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily sought to portray the FONOPs as a justified pretext for further Chinese consolidation of control over disputed land features in the area. In particular, it called for further reclamation activities and establishment of military facilities across various contested land features.
“Against this backdrop of peace and cooperation, a US ship wantonly provoking trouble is single-minded to the point of recklessness,” warned the commentary.
“If the relevant party once more makes trouble out of nothing and causes tensions, then it will only cause China to reach this conclusion: in order to earnestly protect peace in the South China Sea, China must strengthen and speed up the building of its abilities there,” the commentary said.
The Philippines, which claims the shoal as part of its national territory, has accused China of unlawfully occupying the feature and denying Filipino fishermen from accessing its maritime resources.
The Philippines, historically a key US ally, claims it has exercised effective sovereignty over the land feature for the past century. Back in mid-2012, China and the Philippines were locked in a months-long naval standoff over the shoal which sparked a dramatic deterioration in bilateral relations.
President Rodrigo Duterte has shifted Manila towards more accommodation with China while downgrading certain bilateral military exchanges with the US. It is somewhat notable that Mattis did not visit Manila in his first symbolic tour to promote his new National Defense Strategy, which makes mention of the Philippines’ strategic importance.
Washington is clearly concerned about China’s growing military footprint in the area, fearing the Scarborough Shoal in particular could soon be incorporated into a sprawling network of military installations across the South China Sea that allows it to establish Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The Pentagon is also reportedly concerned about the long-term implications of possible Chinese construction activities on the shoal, which lies just above 100 nautical miles from the Subic and Clark bases, key forward deployment bases for the US Navy in the region.
Though the US has claimed neutrality on territorial disputes and equivocated on whether its mutual defense treaty with the Philippines could apply in the event of a conflict over the Scarborough Shoal, it has nonetheless steadily stepped up its patrols and surveillance operations in the area in recent years.
Under the Trump administration, the Pentagon has been empowered to expand and regularize activities aimed at countering Beijing’s claims. Trump’s White House, unlike the preceding Barack Obama administration, no longer requires the US Navy’s Pacific Command to seek prior approval for conducting FONOPs in the South China Sea.
This has given the Pentagon greater leeway to challenge China’s activities in the area – and more room to maneuver is likely on the way.
In its newly-released National Defense Strategy, the Pentagon described China as a principal priority and “strategic competitor”, which is “using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbors while militarizing features in the South China Sea.”
The NDS also accuses China of “seek[ing] Indo-Pacific regional hegemony in the near-term and displacement of the United States to achieve global preeminence in the future”
As such, great power rivalry, instead of transnational terrorism, has apparently become America’s primary strategic concern in the region. As the Trump administration enters its second year in office and with a tougher defense strategy in hand, expect more turbulence in the South China Sea.
Well US needs to get a good kick all the way back to their continental US for world to move forward.
Isn’t it obvious? In Europe US divide Europeans between Western Europe and Russia. People nowadays do not know at end of WWII Soviet offered an olive branch to the West but West lead by US REFUSED, with US Patton leading the charge even go further as to want to declear war on SV. the ultimate responsibility of escalating to cold war can be definitively laid on the lap of West lead by US. And recently after dissolution of Soviet Union Russia again wanted to be within the security architecture of Europe. Again US refused while backing more Russiophobe forces in Eastern Europe, which eventually lead to the security situation nowadays. in Europe.
In Middle East…need I say more?
And now they want to come Asia again to divide it. Everywhere US goes you can expect divisions and escalation of tensions everywhere so true regional peace will never be possible because every opportunity for regional players to resolve the problem among THEMSELVES will be spoiled by US, all the while they themselves sitting there pretty claiming they are there for "peace". South China sea issue goes back decades BEFORE the adaptation of UNCLOS that brought sweeping changes, and all these decades have always been dealt with in the diplomatic realm by claimants aside from 1 unfortunate incident between VIetnam and China, which they themselves eventually resolved it. With the sweeping changes UNCLOS brought to the legitimate claims for each party obviously long and hard diplomacy is required, but in comes 2011 US military "rebalance" to Asia. Do people realise what was the situation in 2011? After 8 years of ever escalating wars in the Middle East US broke international law(again), abused UN resolutions and effectively attacked and dismantled Libya. They didn’t stop there, in 2013 they almost did the same to Syria but was only stopped at the last moment when Russia and China made a stand both diplomatically at UN and militarily on the ground. Its against this kind of backdrop of US "pivot" that China stepped up its efforts to militarily secure its near seas, and I’d say rightly so!
Buddy Frank .It might have not been part of the treaty, as it was not an island. But it has been on Spanish/US/Philippines maps as part of the Philippines since they were first published.
Okay, I understand why Vietnam has conflicts with China, as Vietnam’s claims in the South China Sea are in conflict with even more countries claims than China’s are. But what is Indonesia’s problem? This article couldn’t even find a map which shows overlapping claims between China and Indonesia…
1 bài viết thiếu kiến thức về cái nhìn chính trị ở biển ĐÔNG , thiếu 1 cái đánh giá sâu sắc về kết quả chuyến đi của MATTIS .
MATTIS không thu về 1 kết quả cụ thể nào !!
We who? The 3 stooges? Look at human history on how territory is gained and lost.. If legit claim is based on who was there first.. The native Americans and Australian aborigines would not be nearly extinct now.. and try quoting international commons to these new countries and see how far you get.
Sounds like the America’s Manifest Destiny"!!!
The Philppines national boundary is well defined by the Spanish-American War Treaty. It did not included the Scarbourough Shaol.
It has been "the U.S.’s foreign policy is to rule the world to not care about others but herself" until now.
and be like Syria, Ukraine where not even the coconut trees have leaves to claim a few rocks
Mattis posing as a thinker. Hee Haw!
China Border Dispute Rules
If I like it, its mine.
If I’m holding it, its mine.
If I can take it from you, its mine.
If I had it little while ago, its mine.
If its mine, it must never appears to be yours anyway.
If it just looks like mine, its mine.
If you were patrolling with something and you left it sometime, it automatically becomes mine.
If its of no use to me, then also its mine until I say so!
Only problem is, it doesn’t work with Quad and their support for ASEAN in resolving SCS dispute as per the global common rules!
China is the only country forcefully invaded & occupied the largest land mass after its independence since world war II. China supports the UNGA declared terrorists and has occupied the largest area under south china sea against the will of the ASEAN nations. Supports the 2 nuclear weapon blackmailing countries (NK & Pak only allies of China) of the world and still have the gumption to blame peace loving nations.
Why don’t you enlighten us Marquis de sad.
China can claim the moon if it likes, but as with the SCS, nobody would recognise such a ludicrous claim.
China warned the US vessel approaching within 12 miles of Scarborough Shoal. Well, a shoal does not command ANY exclusive zone around it, even if it did belong to China, which it does not. It is Philippine territory, and has been for 400+ years, not contested by China till now, never seeing an official Chinese navy boat till the late 80s. So US, please sail as close as you like to Scarborough Shoal as you comply to international law and it is within the Philippines Economic Zone, and nowhere near China’s.
You people here are clueless. A bunch of back seat drivers with an IQ of a rock, clearly!
Yes.. The US just need to show up and these countries will spare no efforts and sacrifices to serve American interests.
It is amazing that the US entertains the fantasy that it can somehow make Vietnam an ally in it’s program to encircle China.
It is time for the US to bring its warships home, melt them down, and use the steel to create high speed rail in the US.
I believe the US navy needs not to get too close to China’s claimed features to conduct freedom of navigation. As soon as the US ships cross the 9 dashes, they will be in a "Chinese territory." They can perform target shooting, raise airplanes, ect. in the claimed "Chinese territory" to show to the world that the entire South China Sea is part of the international commons.
China can built islands but it is not going to change the balance of power in the SCS.The US is still the supreme force in the region.US backed India,Indonesia and Vietnam will keep China at bay in the Indo pacific region while South Korea,Japan and Taiwan will keep China busy in the north.No way China can challenge US supremacy in the Pacific with 1or 2 aircraft carriers and Russian engine jets against 19 US aircraft carriers with thousands of state of the art F22 Predators and F35 Lightnings 5th generation fighters.
As expected, the USA is trying hard to fish in troubled waters. As if they have not caused enough murders and killings in the Middle East.