France also places
ourselves in the position of a persistent objector to the creation of any claim
to de facto sovereignty on the islands.
France should question
it, otherwise it will be established as a right.
By conducting such
exercises “on a regular basis with allies and friends” the sail of France was
contributing to a rule-based order.
On the other jand, China
said “The Chinese features are not on the usual international shipping route,
so if they deliberately enter those waters within 12 nautical miles, it will be
seen by China as an intentional provocation.”
A French maritime task
group, together with British helicopters and ships, will visit Singapore next
week and then sail “into certain areas” of the South China Sea, apparently not
the first time.
As a major party of NATO, Germany will have similar moves later, I believe, and that will be a big stuff.
Let’s see what will
happen.
France, Britain to sail warships in contested
South China Sea to challenge Beijing
SCMP 20180604
Defence ministers tell
security forum they are contributing to rule-based order
PUBLISHED : Monday, 04
June, 2018, 12:03am
UPDATED : Monday, 04
June, 2018, 11:30am
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France and Britain will sail warships through the South China Sea to
challenge Beijing’s expanding military presence in the disputed waters, their
defence ministers said on Sunday.
The two countries,
both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, made the remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore,
echoing the latest US plan to ramp up its freedom of navigation operations to
counter Beijing’s militarisation in the region and
its stance that territorial disputes should be a matter between China and its
Asian neighbours.
A French
maritime task group, together with British helicopters and ships, will visit
Singapore next week and then sail “into certain areas” of the South China Sea, French armed
forces minister Florence Parly told the annual defence forum.
Without naming China,
she suggested the warships will cross into “territorial waters” claimed by
Beijing and envisioned a potential encounter with its military.
“At some point a stern
voice intrudes into the transponder and tells us to sail away from supposedly
‘territorial waters’,” she said. “But
our commander then calmly replies that he will sail
forth, because these, under international law, are indeed international waters.”
Parly said although France was not a claimant in the South China Sea disputes,
by conducting such exercises “on a regular basis with allies and friends” it was contributing to a rule-based order.
“By exercising our
freedom of navigation, we also place ourselves in
the position of a persistent objector to the creation of any claim to de facto
sovereignty on the islands,” she said.
Instead of accepting
the situation as a fait accompli, Parly said France
should question it, otherwise it will be established as a right.
“I believe we should
broaden this effort even further,” said Parly, adding that Europe was mobilising more widely to support this
endeavour and there were also German observers on board.
Beijing’s claims to
more than 90 per cent of the South China Sea overlap with several of its
neighbours’ and in recent months it has expanded militarisation of its man-made
islands in the resource-rich waterway.
British Secretary of
State for Defence Gavin Williamson
also told the summit that three warships would be sent to the region this year
to counter malign influence and preserve the rule-based order for the
long-term.
“We have to make it
clear that nations need to play by the rules,
and there are consequences for not doing so,” Williamson said.
US Secretary of
Defence Jim Mattis on Saturday warned that Beijing’s militarisation of the
South China Sea would face “much larger
consequences”, without elaborating.
The Pentagon is
reportedly considering a more assertive approach in the region which, compared
to their previous freedom of navigation operations, could involve longer
patrols, more ships and closer surveillance of Chinese facilities such as
electronic jamming equipment and advanced military radars.
US officials are also
reportedly pushing international allies and partners to increase their naval deployments in the vital trade route as
China builds up its military presence on the disputed Paracel and Spratly
islands, even if they stop short of a direct challenge.
At the forum, Beijing’s representatives responded to the French
and British plans by saying the South China Sea is free and open for all to
travel through, and there would be no restrictions on normal freedom of
navigation.
“But violation of China’s sovereignty will not be allowed,”
said Lieutenant General He Lei,
vice-president of the Academy of Military Science and head of China’s
delegation.
Senior Colonel Zhou
Bo, director of the Centre for Security Cooperation under the defence ministry,
said the question was whether France and Britain intended to sail within 12
nautical miles of Chinese-controlled islands and reefs.
“The Chinese features are not on the usual international
shipping route, so if they deliberately
enter those waters within 12 nautical miles, it will be seen by China as an
intentional provocation,” Zhou said.
Last week, two US
warships came within 12 nautical miles of the Paracel Islands – which are
claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan – and carried out manoeuvring operations.
The Pentagon also
cancelled the PLA’s invitation to join an upcoming international maritime
exercise off Hawaii, citing “China’s continued militarisation of the South
China Sea”.
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