American military officials have chastised China for its increased militarization of the waterway. While the United States has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, the American Navy says it has kept the peace in these waters for decades. An international tribunal has dismissed most of China’s claims to the waterway, but Beijing does not recognize the ruling and has instead built naval bases on reefs it now controls.
The Chinese government has made vast claims to the South China Sea that conflict with demarcations made by five other governments. “It’s a quite deliberate Chinese strategy to try to maximize what they perceive as being a moment of distraction and the reduced capability of the United States to pressure neighbors,” said Peter Jennings, a former Australian defense official who is the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.Īfter the sinking of the Vietnamese boat, the State Department urged China in a statement “to remain focused on supporting international efforts to combat the global pandemic, and to stop exploiting the distraction or vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea.” Instead, the Chinese government’s yearslong pattern of assertiveness has only intensified, military analysts said. Chinese and Australian warships have also powered into nearby waters, according to the defense experts.ĭespite working to control a pandemic that spread from China earlier this year, Beijing has not reduced its activities in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which one-third of global shipping flows. At the same time, a Chinese government ship in the area has for days been tailing a Malaysian state oil company ship carrying out exploratory drilling.
The America, an amphibious assault ship, and the Bunker Hill, a guided missile cruiser, entered contested waters off Malaysia.
American warships have sailed into disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to military analysts, heightening a standoff in the waterway and sharpening the rivalry between the United States and China, even as much of the world is in lockdown because of the coronavirus.
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