US to Patrol South China Sea
The United States will send military aircraft and naval vessels to within nautical 12 miles of reefs and islands where China is establishing military installations in the South China Sea as the maritime dispute continues to dominate relations between the two countries.
The patrols could begin within the next several days and would introduce a new level of tension to the low-boiling conflict that has been occurring in the region for years, according to Reuters. The decision could inadvertently lead to a larger incident, if for example the Chinese try to stop a naval patrol by encircling it.
The United States is carrying out the patrols because it maintains that the South China Sea should be freely navigated by both commercial and naval vessels regardless of where they are from. China, and a number of other Asian nations, view the region as a part of its territory, which is why China has begun to build islands and defensive structures like harbors and airstrips on those islands.
Other nations with claims to the Spratly, or Paracel, Islands include the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam, which has also begun some island construction efforts, but lags behind China. The United States has called for all nations with an interest in the South China Sea to reach agreement through negotiations and not through the deployment of military or civilian infrastructure.
For the patrols to be effective, they must become regular, security experts told Reuters. With critical allies like Japan and Australia unlikely to challenge China in the region, that leaves the responsibility with the United States.
The United States' unwillingness to become deeply involved in a number of international conflicts, from Syria to the Ukraine, suggests that regular patrols may not be in the offing in the immediate future.
