Is The U.S. Headed Towards War With China?
By Brinda Banerjee on October 13, 2015 in Politics
A former US Senate candidate and political commentator, Mark Dankof, has warned that the United States’ decision to patrol the South China Sea and take a stronger military approach against China may prove to be the tipping point that incites a global war.
U.S. Plans Military Action In South China Sea
Washington is currently debating the possibility of deploying U.S. Navy ships and aircrafts to the South China Sea. U.S. government officials have shared that the decision has been prompted by a need to inhibit China’s growing aggressiveness in the region. The U.S. may soon conduct “freedom of navigation operations” in the South China Sea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has reportedly recommending authorizing aerial patrols over China’s claimed islands in the South China Sea. The Defense Secretary has also suggested sending U.S. Navy ships into the 12 nautical mile radius around the Spratly Islands that China has claimed as part of its territory.
China has continued building artificial islands in the South China Sea despite international arguments against the same. Beijing maintains that its islands are within its legitimate territory and cites historical rights to the same.
Washington, however, has stated that China is building in international waters and as such, not only are the artificial islands not to be considered legal, actual islands but outposts, they are also in violation of international laws on shared waters and do not count as China’s sovereign territory. Washington’s latest decision to take stronger military action in the region has been inspired by a need to curb China’s growing territory and boldness in the region. By sending its fleet into the waters that China claims as its territorial seas, Washington intends to alert Beijing that it does not consider its claims lawful and does not recognize China’s sovereign rights to the region.
Most recently, the U.S. has conducted aerial surveillance patrols near China’s outposts in the South China Sea. The U.S. has also been running the USS Fort Worth in close proximity to China’s claimed territories. Details regarding updated surveillance routines and closer patrols have not been shared as yet. The Pentagon is reportedly reviewing different plans and is expected to submit a proposal to the White House to deploy U.S. navy crafts within a 12-mile radius of the artificial islands. The U.S.’ decision on the matter is made all the more complex by the fact that it does, in fact, recognize some islands as part of China’s rightful territory while not extending the same title to others.
As such, should the U.S. government authorize more robust action in the South China Sea, it will have to navigate its way through an extremely intricate situation- a reality that the Pentagon is clearly weighing into consideration. In May 2015, Press TV reports an unnamed high-ranking U.S. government officer as saying, “We’re just not going within the 12 miles—yet”. Whether the U.S. is now ready to revive that stance remains to be seen.
American Asia-Pacific Commander Calls For Stronger Action
The head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, is running point on stronger U.S. military action in the South China Sea. The admiral has warned, “If one country selectively ignores these rules for its own benefit, others will undoubtedly follow, eroding the international legal system and destabilizing regional security and the prosperity of all Pacific states”. To ensure that the other claimants in the dispute do not mimic China’s actions in the South China Sea, Admiral Harry Harris has said that the U.S. ought to “exercise freedom of navigation wherever we need to.”
Admiral Harris has not shared details regarding the proposed operations and has not confirmed the U.S.’ plans to enter into the 12 mile radius of China’s newly constructed islands in the South China Sea.
Former U.S Senate Candidate Warns Against Likelihood Of War With China
Washington’s possible decision to send its navy into the South China Sea holds the potential to ignite a war, a former U.S. Senate aspirant has warned. Speaking to Press TV on Sunday, October 11, 2015, Mark Dankof compared Washington’s strategies in the South China Sea to the U.S. decision to send its warships into Japan’s seas in 1941.
The decision to send U.S. crafts into Japan’s territory was made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and it set the stage for encounters between the American and Japanese forces, ultimately culminating in President Roosevelt’s decision to announce war against Japan on December 08, 1941. Mark Dankof has warned that the United States may be heading towards a similar war- one with the potential to expand into a global conflict– with China. “We’re in a situation tonight where American foreign policy, especially in the last 15 years, has led to a circumstance where we are potentially on the edge of the abyss,” Dankof asserts.
Security experts have warned that the U.S. decision to deploy its Navy into the South China Sea will only serve to worsen its already-strained ties with China. The two states have come head-to-head over the past year repeatedly on a series of issues ranging from the South China Sea dispute itself to allegations of cyber warfare and economic manipulation. If the U.S. does take military action against China’s territorial claims it is likely to polarize the two countries further.
Mark Dankof warns that the decision may induce an international conflict, given the complexity of the issue, the number of actors involved and the geopolitical significance of the South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam are also involved in the dispute. And the South China Sea is at the heart of the global shipping trade and is rumored to house significant natural resources and development opportunities. By lending an international flavor to what is currently essentially a regional dispute, the U.S. may trigger a far greater conflict, Dankof cautioned.
Censuring Admiral Harry Harris for his “incredibly irresponsible remarks”, Dankof has said criticized U.S. strategic decision-making by saying, “This is crazy; it makes us wonder what sort of lunatics are running the American government and the national security policy that the commanding officer of American naval forces in the Pacific would actually be saying things like this publicly. “
U.S. Aims To Prevent Chinese ADIZ In South China Sea
Security experts have shared that part of the U.S. decision to possibly station more U.S. Navy forces in the South China Sea is inspired by the need to prevent China from declaring an Air Defense Identification Zone or ADIZ over its territories in the South China Sea.
The concern is informed by China’s declaration of an ADIZ in the East China Sea two years back. In November 2013 Beijing announced the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone over nearly all of the East China Sea, incorporating the Senkaku Islands governed by Japan and claimed by China and Taiwan as part of their sovereign territories. The Chinese ADIZ clashes with the Japanese ADIZ in the region as well as encroaching into portions of the South Korean ADIZ and the Taiwanese ADIZ. The 2013 decision by Beijing is widely understood to have worsened the territorial dispute between China and Japan.
China’s assertion of its ADIZ over the East China Sea led to a rise in tensions between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. is keen to stop China’s growing aggressiveness in the South China Sea before it declares another ADIZ.
U.S.-China Continue To Disagree On South China Sea
Washington and Beijing remain firmly opposed to one another on the South China Sea issue. The U.S. has accused China of “aggressive” behavior and Beijing maintains that Washington is interfering into China’s internal affairs.
James Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, has spoken out against China’s land reclamation projects in the South China Sea and warned against a potential regional war with universal fallout. The official opines that China prioritizes its expansionist ambitions over friendly relations with the U.S. and global stability. Addressing a gathering of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Director Clapper said, “Although China is looking for stable ties with the United States it’s more willing to accept bilateral and regional tensions in pursuit of its interests, particularly on maritime sovereignty issues”. Clapper has suggested that Beijing’s continued action in the South China Sea, despite repeated warnings and requests from the international community, point to a “worrying trend” as there is no predicting how China might use its territories and influence in the South China Sea.
Beijing maintains that China continues to work for international security and cooperation and is legally entitled to its sovereign authority in the region. Hong Lei, the spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, has said that China continues to display “restraint and responsibility” and that its decisions in the South China Sea are “reasonable, legitimate and legal”.
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