As China flexes muscle, U.S. wants South China Sea, East China Sea 'free from control'

From InterAksyon (Jun 4): As China flexes muscle, U.S. wants South China Sea, East China Sea 'free from control'

Amid China’s insistence that it has full sovereignty over South China Sea and East China Sea, the United States said it would guarantee that the territories would be “free from interference and control.”

“The United States wants to ensure that the South China Sea is free for freedom of navigation, free from interference, free from control,” U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said on Monday during his visit to the U.S. Navy destroyer, USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), which is in Manila for a regular port visit.

Thomas told News5 that Washington believes there should be no impediment in the freedom of navigation and economic activity in the disputed areas.

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel of Defense both articulated Washington’s view that while the country considers China as a potential partner, Beijing should not implement any policy or carry out any action that would undermine stability in the Asia–Pacific region.

On Sunday, Chinese Lt. Gen. Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s general staff,  said Beijing had the right to send naval patrols in the East China Sea and South China Sea as these were under “Chinese sovereignty.”

“So the Chinese warships and the patrolling activities are totally legitimate and uncontroversial,” Qi added.

Thomas believes, however, that such posture will have an impact on economic activity and trade.

“We oppose economic coercion,” Thomas said, adding that the United States still believes territorial disputes can be resolved at the negotiating table.

“There are cross cutting claims… we have repeatedly called on all claimant-states to sit down on the negotiating table, “ Thomas said, quickly adding that the U.S. would not mediate or intervene in the diputes. “The United States does not take any position on the territorial claims.”

Brunei, China, Malaysia, The Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have competing claims on several islands and shoals in the South China Sea, most notably, the Spratlys, a major fishing area, which is believed to have large deposits of oil and gas. China claims all territories in the South China Sea including Spratlys, a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays, and islands.

Meanwhile, China and Japan have competing claims over a group of uninhibited islands called Senkakus in the East China Sea.

China had repeatedly opposed moves to resolve the disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea through international bodies, insisting on a bilateral or country-to-country approach.

Commitment to regional security

U.S. Navy Capt. Luke Frost, commanding officer of the USS Paul Hamilton, told News5 that although their Philippine stop is considered a regular port visit, “it is also to show our commitment to regional security and to show our close ties with the Philippines and the region.”

The USS Paul Hamilton is scheduled to leave Tuesday after a four-day port visit.
Frost added that the ongoing sequestration or budget cuts in the U.S. did not affect navy operations in Asia. [Watch video below]

“Our leadership has done a very good job of prioritizing and forward deployed ships that are the tip of the spear,” Frost said. “We continue to prioritize resources so there is no interruption in our capability and operations.”

The U.S. has been forced to reduce military deployments and operations worldwide following budget cuts.



USS Paul Hamilton’s capabilities

 Frost briefed Thomas and select guests, including News5, on the capabilities of the USS Paul Hamilton, which is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Frost said the USS Paul Hamilton could carry out several missions such as anti–air and anti-submarine operations as well as surface warfare.

The ship is armed with a vertical launch system, containing a combination of cruise, surface to air, Harpoon surface to surface missiles, a five-inch deck gun as well as close in weapons systems such as 20-millimeter Phalanx gun system and 25-mm chain guns.

Frost gave a tour of the key areas of the ship such as the bridge, the Combat Information Center (CIc) and the Engineering spaces.

According to Frost, the CIC (which was “sanitized” for the tour) is the area where the ship carries out “its fight.” Surrounded by radars, sensors and monitors, Frost said “they get all the information from the onboard equipment as well as from other ships so we know what action to take.”

The ship is equipped with the AN/SPY1D3d radar, which enables it to track and engage multiple air and surface targets. Frost pointed out that the Arleigh Burke class destroyer was designed not to have any right angles on the outside of its hull and superstructure – doing so reduces its cross section or making it harder to detect on radar.

The USS Paul Hamilton has seen combat operations in the Persian Gulf and in anti – piracy operations off Somalia.

The ship is equipped with gas turbines engines, which give it a top speed of 30 knots or 56 kilometers per hour. Frost explained that the ship’s engines are actually based on aircraft engines.

The ship has a crew of 281 including 24 Filipino-Americans, according to Frost.

“Our ship’s home port is Hawaii, we have very close ties with the Philippines,” Frost said.        

Commissioned in 1995, the USS Paul Hamilton is the 10th ship built in the Arleigh Burke class and was named in honor of the third US Secretary of the Navy.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/63286/as-china-flexes-muscle-u-s--says-it-wants-south-china-sea-east-china-sea-free-from-control