Angry China shadows US warship near man-made islands

A US guided-missile destroyer sailed close to one of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea yesterday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it had tracked and warned the ship and called in the U.S. ambassador to protest.

The USS Lassen’s patrol was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits China claims around artificial islands it has built up in the Spratly archipelago as Beijing exercises its growing maritime power.

Washington’s move followed months of deliberation by the administration of President Barack Obama and could ratchet up tension in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and increase strains in U.S.-China relations.

A U.S. defence official said the Lassen also went within 12-mile limits of features in the disputed sea claimed by Vietnam and U.S. treaty ally, the Philippines. They said such “freedom-of-navigation” patrols were expected to become more frequent.

The U.S. destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef, an artificial island built up by China in the past year.

A Chinese guided-missile destroyer and a naval patrol ship shadowed and gave warnings to the U.S. warship “according to law”, China’s Defence Ministry said. It said the military would take necessary steps to protect the country’s security.

The U.S. patrol was a “coercive action that seeks to militarize the South China Sea region” and an “abuse” of freedom of navigation under international law, it added.

U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter yesterday confirmed the patrol. Carter, testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee, initially would only say the U.S. Navy had conducted operations in the South China Sea. But under questioning from lawmakers, he confirmed that the USS Lassen had passed within 12 miles of a Chinese artificial island.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui summoned U.S. Ambassador Max Baucus, telling him that the patrol was “extremely irresponsible,” the Foreign Ministry said. It earlier said the USS Lassen “illegally” entered waters near islands and reefs in the Spratlys without the Chinese government’s permission.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang later told a daily briefing that if the United States continued to “create tensions in the region,” China might conclude it had to “increase and strengthen the building up of our relevant abilities”.— Reuters.