(Newswire.net — May 2, 2020) — Multiple Chinese warships had a run in with a US vessel in the South China Sea were on the verge of an incident, as the US warships entered the disputed South China Sea, NBC News reports.
The report follows Beijing’s claims that its navy had chased the US destroyer, which the US denies.
US warships conducted two “free float” operations this week to challenge China’s claims in South China Sea waters, NY Times reports.
The operation came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over leadership in the outbreak and spread of corona viruses in Wuhan and after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of misusing worldwide attention amidst the pandemic fight by “harassing” its neighbors in the South China Sea.
The Chinese military has accused the US of a serious breach of international law, as well as encroaching on China’s sovereignty and security interests by “provocative acts”, claiming that they chased of a US Navy ship sailing the South China Sea on Tuesday.
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose an unprecedented threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships,” the Navy said.
Although the US denies that there has been a conflict in the South China Sea between US Navy ships and Chinese warships, the fact that Beijing said it attacked the vessel will add to fears that China’s military aggression has increased following tensions with the US.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also claim that some of the hundreds of reefs and small islands in the South China Sea belong to them, but since 2014 Beijing has stepped up its claims to include almost all islands, concreting reefs to build military-equipped airports radars, missiles, and planes.
To challenge Chinese claims, Washington regularly ships its warships to what it claims are “free navigation operations” designed to guarantee the right of free passage in international waters.
While it is unclear what really happened between the US destroyer and Chinese warships, the incident underscores a dangerous trend: Beijing is determined to use the absence of US leadership and the world’s preoccupation with the corona virus to show muscle on a global stage, the Times estimates.
The newspaper adds that China is aggressively underscoring its geopolitical interests in the South China Sea while seeking to extend its influence to governments and multilateral institutions such as the World Health Organization from which the US withdrew.
“I think that the Chinese remain very fearful about what will happen when we finally all get on top of this virus, and there is going to be an investigation of how it started,” said Bonnie Glaser, the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “They’re just trying to repair the damage that was done very early on to China’s reputation.”