Beijing accuses US of threatening peace and stability after warship passes disputed South China Sea reef

Chinese military says the USS Gabrielle Giffords entered waters near Second Thomas Shoal, violating ‘China’s sovereignty and security’
The US ‘severely undermined regional peace and stability’, China’s Southern Theatre Command says

US-China relations

Khushboo RazdanandJack Lau

Published: 8:08am, 4 Dec 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

The Chinese military described the United States as “the biggest threat to peace and stability” in the South China Sea after an American warship sailed close to a disputed reef on Monday.

The People’s Liberation Army said a US ship had entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal “illegally” and without its permission. It did not say which laws it thought were being breached.

“The United States has deliberately disrupted the South China Sea, seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, severely undermined regional peace and stability, and seriously violated international law and basic norms governing international relations,” the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command said.

“This fully illustrates that the US is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

The USS Gabrielle Giffords, an Independence-class littoral combat ship, conducted combined operations with the Philippine Navy in the South China Sea a few days before its voyage past the reef, which has been at the centre of recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels.

Philippine troops have been stationed at the shoal since the Philippines deliberately grounded the BRP Sierra Madre, a second world warship, there in 1999.

This year Philippine ships approaching the area have been involved in a series of confrontations with Chinese coastguard and maritime militia vessels stationed off the nearby, Chinese-held Mischief Reef.

Washington has backed Philippine protests that Chinese vessels are blocking its resupply missions or making dangerously close passes.

02:41

Marcos Jnr says China showing interest in South China Sea atolls that lie close to the Philippines

Megan Greene, a public affairs officer from the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, described the US ship’s movements as “routine operations” that were “consistent with international law”.

“These operations demonstrate we are committed to upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific region where all nations, large and small, are secure in their sovereignty, can resolve disputes without coercion and have the freedom to navigate and fly consistent with international laws, rules and norms,” she said, adding that the US would not be deterred from continuing to work alongside its allies and partners.

An arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled in 2016 that China’s extensive claims to the waters of the South China Sea, marked by the so-called nine-dash line, conflicted with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a treaty that Beijing has signed. China has refused to accept the ruling.

Parts of the resource-rich waters, a major international shipping route, are also claimed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the US freedom-of-navigation operation should not come across as “strange” because of Washington’s defence commitments to Manila.

But Beijing may see it as a “prelude” to more explicit support for the Philippines carrying out large-scale construction activities near the Second Thomas Shoal, including work to rehabilitate the Sierra Madre or replace it with a more permanent outpost.

“It’s not just an assertion of freedom of navigation or challenge to China’s accepted claim,” he said. “From Beijing’s point of view, it could be seen as something paving the way for the Philippines carrying out large-scale activities.”

China and the US are trying to restart high-level military talks that were disrupted because of the Covid-19 pandemic but also the trip to Taiwan last year by Nancy Pelosi, the former US House speaker.

Over 135 Chinese boats ‘swarming’ reef off Philippine coast, says Manila

On Sunday, the Philippines accused more than 135 Chinese ships, most of which belonged to China’s maritime militia, of “swarming” Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands. The reef is controlled by the Philippines but is also claimed by China and Vietnam.

Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said on Monday that the Philippines should not make irresponsible remarks about lawful and legitimate acts by Chinese boats, such as fishing or taking shelter.

Last month, Beijing and Washington traded accusations after China’s military said it had driven away a US warship in the contested South China Sea.

The US Navy countered that it was on a “routine freedom-of-navigation operation”.

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