The destroyer Kidd transits the heavily-contested South China Sea. (MC3 Class Kelsey J. Hockenberger/U.S. Navy)
Defense News: US moves to justify sail-by operations in South China Sea
SINGAPORE ― A senior U.S. Navy officer has pushed back against suggestions at a regional security summit that freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea have been ineffective, calling them a long-term strategy for demonstrating that China’s claims in the body of water are not internationally recognized.
Speaking in Singapore at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Rear Adm. Donald Gabrielson, commander of Logistics Group Western Pacific, added that the operations, known by the acronym FONOP, are not meant to be a military provocation or intended to shape policy in the short term.
Gabrielson said the operations are instead a statement on the lack of agreement to, and lack of recognition of, an excessive claim ― in this case China’s claim that the South China Sea islands it occupies and has constructed military facilities on are part of its territory. China has also deployed surface-to-air, anti-ship and jamming equipment to its reclaimed islands.
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WNU Editor: U.S. Senator Marco Rubio wants the Pentagon to do more .... Marco Rubio: US must develop plan to ‘destroy’ Chinese assets in South China Sea (Washington Examiner).
Update: No kidding .... Rising China-US Tensions Affect Southeast Asia (VOA).
