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The U.S. Navy sent a destroyer on a “freedom of navigation” mission through the Paracel island chain in the South China Sea, and the Chinese regime claims it will toughen its response to similar missions in the future.
On Jan. 30, the USS Curtis Wilbur passed within 12 nautical miles of the less than one-square mile Triton Island, which is claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
What’s ironic is that the Chinese regime is calling the incident an act to establish U.S. hegemony, when in fact it was to counter Chinese hegemony already being claimed over the entire region.
China’s response plays perfectly into the ancient Chinese saying: “It’s the thief who yells ’stop thief.'”
The Chinese regime began its operations to claim the East China Sea and South China Sea in November 2013. It started by claiming an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea that includes the Senkaku Islands, which are under Japanese control.
Other nations refused to recognize China’s ADIZ, and the Chinese regime tried setting a requirement that aircraft passing through would need to first report to Chinese authorities.
The United States responded soon after, and on Nov. 26, 2013, it flew two B-52 bombers through the region, which is still recognized as international airspace by all except the Chinese regime.
The China didn’t end its operations there. It began pushing into the South China Sea and constructed man-made islands, which it then claimed as Chinese territory and began weaponizing.
Despite the fact that some of the man-made islands are close to 1,000 miles south of China’s southernmost point in Hainan, it has since attempted to deny access to other nations travelling through the airspace and waters nearby the islands.
In May 2015, the United States responded again by sending a P8-A Poseidon surveillance plane over China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea. CNN released recordings of the Chinese military harassing the U.S. aircraft, saying things including, “Leave immediately!” and “You go!”
