美國挑戰中國人造島（revised on 20150515）

【Comment】

The White House might approve military options including “flying Navy surveillance aircraft over the islands and sending U.S. naval ships to within 12 nautical miles of reefs that have been built up and claimed by the Chinese in an area known as the Spratly Islands.”  It is a showdown, according to WSJ.

The Liberty Times used the term “Maritime Great Wall,” which was coinedby James O. Richardson the Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT).

The creation of the term “Maritime Great Wall” suggests the agitation of a cultural emotion, rather than just a pure concept of defense strategy.    Revised on 20150515

《華爾街日報》提出「最終攤牌」(showdown) 的字眼。

《自由時報》則出現「沙土長城」的概念。這是美軍太平洋艦隊司令哈里斯的形容。出現長城字眼，表示概念已經從戰略進入文化範疇。

〈聯合國海洋法公約〉已經白紙黑字規定人造島嶼不享有領土主權（所以也不享有）海洋法權利。

當時就判斷中國不會管這套列強的規矩，會以「既成事實」逼迫國際社會承認。

第六十條　專屬經濟區內的人工島嶼、設施和結構

　　1. 沿海國在專屬經濟區內應有專屬權利建造並授權和管理建造、操作和使用：

　　(a)人工島嶼；…

60.7  人工島嶼、設施和結構及其周圍的安全地帶，不得設在對使用國際航行必經的公認海道可能有干擾的地方。

60.8  人工島嶼、設施和結構不具有島嶼地位。它們沒有自己的領海，其存在也不影響領海、專屬經濟區或大陸架界限的劃定

Article60    Artificial islands, installations and structures in the exclusive economic zone

1. In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have the exclusive right to construct and to authorize and regulate the construction, operation and use of:

(a) artificial islands;…

7. Artificial islands, installations and structures and the safety zones around them may not be established where interference may be caused to the use of recognized sea lanes essential to international navigation.

8. Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf.

第八十條　大陸架上的人工島嶼、設施和結構

　　第六十條比照適用於大陸架上的人工島嶼、設施和結構。

Article80    Artificial islands, installations and structures on the continental shelf

Article 60 applies mutatis mutandis to artificial islands, installations and structures on the continental shelf.

美軍方考慮對抗中國在南海的領土主張○WSJ (2015.05.13)

美國官員稱，美國軍方正考慮動用飛機和軍艦，對中國針對一組面積迅速擴大的人工島嶼所抱持的領土主張直接提出質疑，此舉可能加大地區內相關各方在誰控制南中國海(South China Sea, 中國稱：南海) 爭議水域的問題上最終攤牌的風險。

美國國防部長卡特(Ash Carter)已經要求下屬研究各種方案，包括命令海軍偵察機飛越這些島嶼上空以及派遣美國軍艦駛入距離這些島礁12海裡以內的水域。中方正在這些島礁上進行建設，並已宣佈擁有這些島礁的主權。這些島礁屬於被稱為斯普拉特利群島(Spratly Islands, 中國稱：南沙群島)的地區。

如果獲得白宮批準，這些舉動的目的將是向北京釋放信號，即美方不會承認中國對這些人造島嶼的領土主張，美國認為這些島嶼屬於國際水域和空域。

五角大樓的考慮可能是，相關的軍事計劃和任何可能的部署行動會加大給中國方面的壓力，迫使中國在島嶼建設的問題上做出讓步。但是，北京方面也可能加大力度，無視美國繼續擴大建設，甚至進一步擴大在該地區的領土主張。

美國已表示，不會承認中國對這些人造島嶼的領土主張。盡管如此，軍方官員說，為避免緊張局勢升級，迄今為止美國海軍派出的軍用飛機或船隻並未進入爭議島嶼方圓12海裡以內的海域。

根據美國估計，中國已將南沙群島區域內的人工島嶼面積擴大至2,000英畝，去年為500英畝。上個月，國防情報提供商《IHS簡氏防務週刊》(IHS Jane's Defence Weekly) 提供的衛星圖像顯示，中國已開始在其中一個島上建造飛機跑道，看上去足夠容納戰鬥機和偵察機。

軍方官員表示，五角大樓和白宮內部已有越來越多的聲音呼籲採取具體措施，向北京方面發出信號：其最近在南沙群島大興土木的舉動已經過火，應當停止。

U.S. Military Proposes Challenge to China Sea Claims○WSJ (2015.05.13)

The U.S. military is considering using aircraft and Navy ships to directly contest Chinese territorial claims to a chain of rapidly expanding artificial islands, U.S. officials said, in a move that would raise the stakes in a regional showdown over who controls disputed waters in the South China Sea.  As the WSJ’s Adam Entous, Gordon Lubold and Julian E. Barnes report:

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has asked his staff to look at options that include flying Navy surveillance aircraft over the islands and sending U.S. naval ships to within 12 nautical miles of reefs that have been built up and claimed by the Chinese in an area known as the Spratly Islands.

Such moves, if approved by the White House, would be designed to send a message to Beijing that the U.S. won’t accede to Chinese territorial claims to the man-made islands in what the U.S. considers to be international waters and airspace.

The Pentagon’s calculation may be that the military planning, and any possible deployments, would increase pressure on the Chinese to make concessions over the artificial islands.  But Beijing also could double down, expanding construction in defiance of the U.S. and potentially taking steps to further Chinese claims in the area.

The U.S. has said it doesn’t recognize the man-made islands as sovereign Chinese territory.  Nonetheless, military officials said, the Navy has so far not sent military aircraft or ships within 12 nautical miles of the reclaimed reefs to avoid escalating tensions.

If the U.S. challenges China’s claims using ships or naval vessels and Beijing stands its ground, the result could escalate tensions in the region, with increasing pressure on both sides to flex military muscle in the disputed waters.

According to U.S. estimates, China hasexpanded the artificial islands in the Spratly chain to as much as 2,000 acres of land, up from 500 acres last year.  Last month, satellite imagery from defense intelligence provider IHS Jane’s showed China has begun building an airstrip on one of the islands, which appears to be large enough to accommodate fighter jets and surveillance aircraft.

中國譴責美軍方擬向南海派遣軍艦和軍機的計劃○WSJ (2015.05.13)

國軍方正考慮向南中國海(South China Sea, 中國稱南海)爭議島嶼附近派遣飛機和軍艦，以此挑戰中國在該地區的領土主張。對於美國軍方擬議中的上述計劃，中國政府週三進行了強烈譴責。

中國外交部發言人華春瑩稱，中方對美方有關言論表示嚴重關切，美方有必要予以澄清。

華春瑩表示，中方一向主張南海航行自由，但航行自由絕不等於外國軍艦、軍機可以隨意進入一國領海、領空，中方將堅定維護領土主權。

她說，中方要求有關方面謹言慎行，不得採取任何冒險和挑釁行為。