West PH Sea row, major reason for deterioration in US-China ties

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 24): West PH Sea row, major reason for deterioration in US-China ties

China’s territorial dispute with the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) was a major reason the security relations between two of the world’s most powerful nations “deteriorated” in 2014, a United States commission said in its annual report to the US Congress released over the weekend.

In the report, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) cited numerous instances when China’s actions in the South China Sea “introduced greater instability to the region and violated China’s 2002 agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which stipulates that all claimants should exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability.”

“China moved aggressively in asserting its claims in the South China Sea in 2014, using unilateral and destabilizing actions to advance its territorial ambitions,” the USCC report said. “In March, it began attempts to block access to a Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Second Thomas Shoal.”

Also throughout the year, China continued work on various land reclamation projects in areas in the South China Sea also claimed by the Philippines, including building military facilities on Fiery Cross Reef and potentially Johnson South Reef in the Spratly Islands.

Aside from escalating territorial row in the South China Sea, several reported confrontations between military aircraft and ships of China and the United States in the disputed region and increased military spending of the Chinese government heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing in 2014.

“On each of these occasions, Chinese military personnel engaged in unsafe, unprofessional, and aggressive behavior that could have resulted in the loss of life or a major political crisis,” the USCC report to Congress said.

These potential China-US military confrontations risked escalating into a “major political crisis,” it added.

The report included 48 recommendations for congressional action.

These included a call for Congress to fund the US Navy’s shipbuilding and operational efforts to increase its presence in the Asia Pacific to at least 67 ships and rebalance homeports to 60 percent in the region by 2020 in order for the US to have the capacity to “maintain readiness and presence in the Asia Pacific, offset China’s growing military capabilities, and surge naval assets in the event of a contingency.”

The report also urged Congress to “appoint an outside panel of experts to do a net assessment of the Sino-American military balance and make recommendations to Congress regarding the adequacy of the current US military plans and budgets to meet the security requirements of the United States in the Pacific.

In addition, the USCC recommended that US Congress “ensure the adequacy of open source collection, production, and dissemination capabilities vis-à-vis security issues involving China.”

The USCC report was issued as the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives passed a resolution late Thursday reaffirming the need for a peaceful and collaborative solution to maritime and jurisdictional disputes in South China Sea as provided by universally recognized principles of international law.

House Resolution 714, introduced by US Rep. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, affirms the strong support of the US government for freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace in the Asia-Pacific region. It condemns coercive actions or the use of force to impede these freedoms in international maritime domains and airspace.

According to Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, House Resolution 714 “rightfully calls for a peaceful resolution of the on-going territorial disputes in the South China Sea.”

“It’s a crucial commercial hub with shipping lines, energy resources, fishing territory. This is a good plan to get it back to a peaceful resolution,” Royce said.

The resolution stated that the maritime domains of the Asia-Pacific region, which include both sea and airspace, are critical to the region’s prosperity, stability, and security, including global commerce.

In 2002, ASEAN and China committed to develop an effective Code of Conduct. It would commit all parties to territorial disputes to reaffirm their respect for freedom of navigation as provided by the universally recognized principles of international law, and to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force.

The House resolution cited numerous instances when China’s aggressive actions in South China Sea threatened regional stability. It cited a February, 2011, incident in which a People’s Liberation Army and Navy (PLAN) frigate opened fire at three fishing boats from the Philippines.

Also, without prior consultations with the United States, or other Asia-Pacific nations, China declared an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea in November, 2013, with regulations violating the 1994 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Congressman Faleomavaega said although the US government is not a claimant in the maritime disputes in either South China Sea or East China Sea, it has “an interest in a peaceful diplomatic resolution of disputes claimed in accordance with international law regarding the freedom of navigation and overflight, and a free float for commerce, free coercion, intimidation, or the use of force.”

http://www.mb.com.ph/west-ph-sea-row-major-reason-for-deterioration-in-us-china-ties/