{"id":13535,"date":"2021-01-25T23:13:36","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T23:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=154470"},"modified":"2021-01-25T23:13:36","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T23:13:36","slug":"u-s-carrier-strike-group-sails-into-south-china-sea-amid-heightened-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/25\/u-s-carrier-strike-group-sails-into-south-china-sea-amid-heightened-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Carrier Strike Group Sails Into South China Sea Amid Heightened Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the South China Sea, just days after President Joe Biden took office, drawing a rebuke from China against Washington for the display of force.<\/p>\n

But over the weekend, China was engaged in its own show of military might, as it flew an unusually high number of warplanes in airspace south of Taiwan. China also passed a law last week authorizing its coastguard to use force against foreign ships, which caused jitters in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

Together, the developments point to heightened tensions in South China Sea less than a week after the Jan. 20 inauguration of Biden, who inherited an already sore relationship between Washington and Beijing.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Navy announced on Saturday that the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group entered<\/a><\/span> the South China Sea to conduct routine operations including maritime strike exercises and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith two-thirds of the world\u2019s trade travelling through this very important region, it is vital that we maintain our presence and continue to promote the rules-based order which has allowed us all to prosper,\u201d said the strike group\u2019s commander, Rear Admiral Doug Verissimo, in a news release.<\/p>\n

The strike group includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a guided-missile cruiser, two guided-missile destroyers, and other assets.<\/p>\n

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said<\/a><\/span> that \u201cit does no good to regional peace and stability for the United States to frequently send military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea to show off muscles.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Washington, the boot was on the other foot. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed concern<\/a><\/span> Saturday about China\u2019s efforts to intimidate its neighbors, specifically Taiwan, and vowed that the U.S. would \u201cstand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the Indo-Pacific region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manila complains<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, spoke out over China on Friday authorizing<\/span> the China Coast Guard (CGG) to use force against foreign vessels infringing on China\u2019s expansive claims in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque reminded China of its obligations under international law, and expressed hope that both China and other South China Sea claimants would refrain from \u201cactions that would worsen the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile a country has sovereign power to pass laws in its territory, these laws still must follow its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to which China is a signatory,\u201d Roque told reporters. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd under this international law, use of force is generally prohibited except for two well-defined exceptions by way of self-defense,\u201d he said, noting that this could only occur when armed troops enter China.<\/p>\n

Even before this new law, the CCG already had a reputation for confronting and sometimes clashing with fishing boats and other ships of neighboring countries in contested waters in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

China has maritime and territorial disputes with Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan in the South China Sea. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the disputes, Beijing\u2019s claims overlap with Indonesia\u2019s exclusive economic zone.<\/p>\n

Roque urged completion and then adherence to a Code of Conduct \u2013 referring to an agreement that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have been negotiating to manage tensions in the South China Sea. China\u2019s lack of enthusiasm for a multilateral solution to the disputes has persistently hindered these talks.<\/p>\n

Coast Guard Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts viewed China\u2019s new coast guard law, which comes into effect on Feb. 1, as a worrying escalation of the South China Sea disputes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new law raises the risk of armed confrontation at sea between Chinese coast vessels and Southeast Asian maritime law enforcement agencies as the CCG is China’s principal tool for asserting its territorial and jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea,\u201d said Ian Storey, Senior Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.<\/p>\n

\u201cCCG ships are much larger and more heavily armed than regional coast guard vessels,\u201d Storey added.<\/p>\n

Dr Ramli Dollah, a security expert from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), said \u201cthis issue will have major impact on Malaysia-China relations in the South China Sea.\u201d He added that there has been frequent close contact between the CCG and Malaysian enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n

But Collin Koh, a maritime security and geopolitics expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the new law doesn\u2019t signify a new policy by China, but \u201cis supposed to give legitimate cover\u201d to existing behaviors, such as intimidating the Philippines at Thitu Island and Vietnam at Vanguard Bank.<\/p>\n

Philippine opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Manila\u2019s Department of National Defense (DND) should be prepared for more aggression from China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DND already needs to have a strategy for when worse comes to worst. Does the new law mean they will shoot our fishermen vessels? China should ease tensions in the West Philippine Sea not escalate them,\u201d Hontiveros said in a statement as she called on the government to ensure that the Philippines follows an independent foreign policy. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be no special relationship with any countries right now \u2026 especially with China,\u201d she said. \u201cOur country shouldn\u2019t be beholden to any foreign power, whether in the West or the East.\u201d <\/p>\n

Although the Philippines is a longtime U.S. ally, President Rodrigo Duterte has sought closer ties with Beijing since assuming office in 2016, and has steered clear of confronting China over its conduct at sea. That\u2019s despite a successful legal challenged Manila mounted against China\u2019s sweeping South China Sea claims before Duterte took office, and continuing reports of Chinese aggression against Filipino fishermen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Philippine government must decisively denounce this law and protect the Filipinos against Chinese aggressors,\u201d fishermen\u2019s group Pamalakaya leader Fernando Hicap said of the new law. He described it as a \u201cserious threat\u201d to Filipino fishermen.<\/p>\n

The Chinese Embassy did not reply to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Last week, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian stressed the benefits to Manila of economic cooperation between China and the Philippines, given the sharp growth in Philippine exports to China and in Chinese investment in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Jojo Rinoza in Dagupan City, Philippines, and Hadi Azmi and Nisha David in Kuala Lumpur, contributed to this story.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the South China Sea, just days after President Joe Biden took office, drawing a rebuke from China\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1133,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13535"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13536,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13535\/revisions\/13536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}