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Sailing past Chinese islets not a threat, U.S. commander says

The Associated Press

The U.S. Navy’s recent challenge to China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea was not designed as a military threat, the head of U.S. Pacific military forces said in a mostly upbeat November 2015 speech about prospects for preventing U.S.-China disputes from escalating.

In separate high-level meetings of military officials from the two nations — one in Beijing and one in Malaysia — top Chinese officials again expressed their country’s pique over a U.S. warship sailing past Chinese-built islands, while also expressing hope that the two sides could build further trust.

Speaking at a university in the Chinese capital, U.S. Pacific Command Commander Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. cited a recent statement by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter that the international order” faces challenges from Russia and, in a different way, from China, with its ambiguous maritime claims,” including Beijing’s claim to nearly all of the South China Sea.

However, Harris said the decision to send the USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, into the South China Sea near Subi Reef, within the 12-nautical-mile (22-kilometer) territorial limit claimed by China, was meant to demonstrate the principle of freedom of navigation.

“I truly believe that these routine operations should never be construed as a threat to any nation,” Harris said. “These operations serve to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law.”

China at the time protested the Lassen patrol, calling it a “deliberate provocation,” and sent two warships to shadow the U.S. vessel. Although China labeled the action illegal, international law allows warships to transit other countries’ territorial seas under the principle of “innocent passage.”

In an early November 2015 meeting in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan reiterated China’s view that the Lassen patrol was illegal, according to two senior U.S. defense officials who attended the meeting.

Carter and Chang spoke for 40 minutes on the sidelines of an Asia defense ministers gathering.

In his speech, Harris said the U.S. does not want disagreements to interfere with opportunities for building closer military-to-military ties with China. He cited a number of measures taken to improve safe military operations in the Indo Asia Pacific.

China and five other governments claim the South China Sea either in part or in whole.

The U.S. does not recognize China’s man-made features, including Subi Reef, as legitimate islands entitled to territorial seas, and U.S. officials say they plan to patrol near them on a regular basis to enforce that view. China has reclaimed approximately 809 hectares of land in the Spratly island chain since last year, and is now adding harbors, housing and airstrips.

Harris was in Beijing on his first visit as commander of U.S. Pacific Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations throughout the Indo Asia Pacific.

In his remarks, the admiral was mostly upbeat in his assessment of prospects for improving relations with China, saying he did not subscribe to the pessimistic view that a conflict was inevitable. While saying that as a military commander he is required to “look through a darker lens and drink through a glass half-empty,” he emphasized areas of mutual U.S.-China interest and ways in which the two countries are cooperating.

“I agree with many of my Chinese counterparts who have emphasized cooperation over confrontation,” Harris said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks provided to reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Carter in Malaysia.

“I continue to have personal and candid conversations with Chinese military leaders, which is why I’m in China this week,” he added.

Harris’ remarks reflect in part U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration’s emphasis on deepening U.S. economic, diplomatic and military relations across the Indo Asia Pacific — a so-called “pivot to the Pacific” after years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. U.S. relations with China, however, have been complicated by what the U.S. sees as opaque Chinese military intentions and aggressive moves in the South China Sea.

Although mistrust remains on both sides, engagement is increasing.

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