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Tuesday, March 10, 2009
US says 'reckless' Chinese ships harass Navy vessel
The United States vowed to keep operating in international waters after it said five Chinese ships veered dangerously close to a US Navy surveillance vessel in the South China Sea.
The United States formally protested to Chinese authorities in Beijing and to the defense attache in Washington over the incident, which the Pentagon said occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island.
"This was a reckless, dangerous maneuver that was unprofessional" and violated international law, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters on Monday.
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Equivalent to fighters escorting a recce bomber aircraft out of a sensitive area. US/NATO do it all the time.
ReplyDeleteThe US Navy is conditioning Obama to play it tough when he visits China in 2 weeks.
Pete
Whats the distance from homeland to ocean ration? If it were "over here". We would have more than 5 reckless boats surrounding a "surveillance" operant.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a difference between "escort" and "harass." The Maritime Rules of the Road specify who has the right of way in various circumstances and there are further rules about minimum distance of separation.
ReplyDeleteI've seen pictures of Soviet intelligence-gathering trawlers sitting exactly twelve miles away from Hawaii and Guam, so that they are clearly visible in the frame of US military aircraft taking off. This is simply the law. Actual "sovereignty" ends at the twelve-mile limit. From there on out, it's international waters and everyone must grit their teeth and bear it.
The nastiest confrontations between the US and Soviet navies, including ramming and damaged ships, came in waters the Soviet had declared "enclosed," and therefore sovereign. The US ignored those arguments and declared them "international," leading to some interesting situations whenever the two sides decided to make an issue over it.
But that is not an issue here. If they were close enough in open waters that they could be hit with the jet from a fire hose, then they were in violation of international practice. If the captain of the US ship was calling to plead for a clear lane to exit, then they were in violation of the Rules of the Road. If China wants to be taken "seriously" then China is going to have to grow up and stop acting like North Korea.