The White House stated that the US would “operate, fly, or sail anywhere that international law allows”—a message intended to challenge controversial Chinese claims to artificial islands in the South China Sea.
The pronouncement came shortly after a US defense official confirmed to Reuters that the USS Lassen destroyer had been scheduled within 24 hours of Monday morning, Eastern Standard Time, to sail within twelve nautical miles of outposts assembled by China more than 1,000 miles off of its mainland.
Administration Spokesperson Josh Earnest told reporters Monday this it is “critically important to the global economy” to protect the free flow of commerce that passes through trade routes skirting Beijing’s disputed claims.
He said, however, that he was not “confirming military plans.”
The maneuver has long been called for by hawkish lawmakers, and marks an escalation in a long-running territorial dispute between China and other Southeastern Asian nations troubled by Beijing’s militarization of South China Sea atolls.
During a September Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) knocked the administration’s decision to refrain from sending warships within 12 miles of the contested islands. The senator said the lack of any such challenge emboldened China to ramp up it’s militarized land reclamation project.
“The best sign of respecting freedom of the seas is not to de facto recognize a 12-mile limit,” McCain, the committee’s Chairman, stated. “The best way you can make sure that is not recognized is to sail your ships in international waters–which it clearly is; these are artificial islands–and pass right on by.”
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear testified at the hearing, and cautioned against the cavalier approach.
“I think we have to be alert to the possibility that the Chinese might use a problem in foreign affairs to distract people’s attention from domestic problems.” he warned Senators.
Last week, State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said the administration has long been planning this course of action in the South China Sea.
“I think we have been very clear that we intend to do this,” he told reporters during a briefing.
According to recent statements from Beijing, the naval incursions won’t be taken lightly.
On October 9, the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned that it would “never allow any country to violate China’s territorial waters and airspace.”
The statement alluded to pending actions taken “in the name of protecting freedom of navigation.”
US surveillance aircraft will reportedly join the USS Lassen on its sail-by.
