report: the united states and other countries outside the south china sea often package provocative military activities as "freedom of navigation" issues
2024-09-27
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china news service, beijing, september 27 (reporter guo chaokai) the "south china sea strategic situational awareness plan" think tank platform released the "south china sea navigation and overflight status report" in beijing on the 27th. the report pointed out that the united states and other countries outside the region often package some provocative military activities against littoral states in the south china sea as "freedom of navigation" issues.
the report stated that although international systems including the united nations convention on the law of the sea (unclos) (hereinafter referred to as the "convention") have relatively vague provisions on the freedom of navigation of warships and overflights of military aircraft in the waters under the jurisdiction of coastal states, especially in the exclusive economic zone, the international community there are also big differences on this, but actions that directly endanger the sovereignty and security of coastal states have nothing to do with "freedom of navigation" no matter what standards are used.
regarding the so-called "freedom of navigation operations" of the us military, the report pointed out that the "freedom of navigation plan" mainly takes the form of three types of declarations of military operations, diplomatic protests, and external consultations and consultations. "freedom of navigation operation" (fonop) is a declaration of military action. the u.s. navy and air force use military operations to challenge other countries' "excessive maritime claims" that the united states considers. its implementation is not based on international law, but on whether the claim affects the freedom of navigation desired by the united states. except for the united states, other countries in the world, including the united kingdom, australia, and canada, and other die-hard allies of the united states, do not have the concept and practice of fonop, although most countries in the world support freedom of navigation.
the report emphasizes that this operation of the united states also determines that when the navigation rights of the united states conflict with the rights of coastal states, it is impossible for it to recognize the ambiguity of international law on this issue, take the initiative to resolve the problem through equal consultation, and take into account the rights of other countries. concerns and interests, but requires other countries to compromise and make concessions for the interests of the united states. this is completely a new initiative of the united states outside the unclos mechanism, trying to put its own domestic laws and practices above international law. it is a naked hegemonic act and has nothing to do with freedom of navigation.
the report stated that compared with other types of "freedom of navigation operations" in other parts of the world, the us military's "freedom of navigation operations" near china's stationed islands and reefs in the south china sea have been more frequent since the operation of the destroyer uss lassen in october 2015. politically and strategically provocative. on the one hand, the us military took the initiative to disclose information to the media, and even announced the details of the "freedom of navigation operation" against china in the form of a statement, including the strength, time and location of the operation. on the other hand, as the length of the "freedom of navigation operations" statement continues to increase, its wording has become more intense and sharp.
according to the report, research shows that among the 39 "freedom of navigation operations" near islands and reefs in the south china sea from 2015 to 2022, at least 22 were related to u.s. china-related and maritime-related policy trends, mainly involving the construction of nansha islands and reefs and the south china sea arbitration case. , consultation on the "south china sea code of conduct" and other issues. it can be seen that these actions of the us military in the south china sea have nothing to do with the maintenance of freedom of navigation and regional stability that it advertises, but are tools to promote its gunboat policy and political pressure. (over)
