US seeks to contain China’s naval operations: Analyst

The United States is seeking to contain China's naval operations in the South China Sea, says political analyst Dennis Etler.

Etler made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Sunday when asked about a US warship which passed close to a small disputed island in the South China Sea late on Friday.

The USS Curtis Wilbur, a missile destroyer, passed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, which is part of the Paracel Islands.

“The US has extended its provocative naval activities in the South China Sea to the Xisha (Paracel) Islands which are much closer to the Chinese mainland than the Nansha (Spratley) Islands, which were previously targeted by US navy actions. Both archipelagos are claimed by China based on historic precedent,” Etler said.

“The Xisha Islands unlike the Nansha Islands are claimed by only two parties, China and Vietnam. In this regard the People's Republic of China, which is the internationally recognized post-WW2 inheritor of Chinese state sovereignty and the former Republic of China stationed on the Chinese province of Taiwan lay claim to both island chains,” he explained.

“The PRC which has occupied the Xisha Islands since the 1970s thus serves as the representative of the Chinese nation, irrespective of which regime is considered. To say that the Xisha Islands are contested by China, Taiwan and Vietnam is thus untrue. The dispute is only between China and Vietnam. So the islands are not terra incognito nor terra nullius, that is they are neither unknown nor unclaimed territory,” he added.

He said the US is not only violating the territorial integrity of China, but also “the territorial integrity of Vietnam if their claims are acknowledged.”

The analyst talked about statements made by US Senator John McCain and Representative Randy Forbes about the US military activities in the disputed waters, saying these statements are disingenuous.

He quoted McCain as saying that “the naval actions are meant to protect ‘freedom of navigation’ in the South China Sea and challenge ‘excessive maritime’ claims.”

He also said Forbes, “US House Seapower Subcommittee Chairman, believes that 'by sailing within the disputed waters around Triton Island, the men and women of the USS Curtis Wilbur have sent a strong signal of America’s enduring commitment to Asia and the rule of law'.”

“These statements are patently disingenuous. The fact that ownership of the Islands is disputed does not abrogate the fact that the Islands are subject to a sovereign power other than the US,” Etler noted.

“The US, therefore, has no inherent right to violate the territorial integrity of whichever state lays claim to the islands in question,” he said.

He went on to say that “the US Navy has acknowledged that the passing of the USS Curtis Wilbur, a missile destroyer, within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, was not a challenge to the sovereignty of the islands by any nation, but an act of 'innocent passage' which is allowed under International Law and not a true challenge to Chinese sovereignty as many anti-China US politicians seem to suggest.”

“So why then is the US making such a concerted effort to take provocative actions against China other than to incite hostility between the two countries?" he asked, saying "as usual the US is attempting to create conflict where none is warranted.”

“The US wants to exacerbate tensions in the South China Sea between itself and China and forge an anti-China alliance in its attempt to contain China's naval operations and prevent the Chinese navy from becoming a blue water navy rather than merely a coastal defense force,” he noted .

“The US, however, is merely exposing itself as a bellicose bully for no other reason than to promote its own hegemonic interests in the Asian Pacific region,” he concluded.

China has on different occasions asserted its sovereignty over the sea, with Chinese Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai, commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) North Sea Fleet, insisting back in September that the South China Sea belongs to China.

However, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims over the South China Sea.

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