U.S. Provocations Can't Buck Peaceful Cooperation in the South China Sea

THE U.S. provocations around the South China Sea have recently intensified.

- REN YUANZHE

Right on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the ad hoc tribunal ruling on the South China Sea arbitration, on July 13, the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, issued the statement “U.S. Position on Maritime Claims in the South China Sea,” saying that, “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them.” The statement denies China’s indisputable sovereignty over Meiji Reef and Ren’ai Reef, and refuses to recognize Zengmu Shoal (roughly 20 meters below the surface) as a part of China. Two days after Pompeo’s statement, the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) arrived in the waters near the Nansha Islands to carry out the socalled “freedom of navigation” operation. This year, the U.S. Navy has carried out at least six such operations and conducted various other operations to demonstrate their military presence. The U.S. Air Force often sends bombers over the area. What’s more, aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan held an exercise in the South China Sea on July 17, the second time in a month. The two aircraft carrier battle groups carried out the same exercise on July 4. This was the first dualcarrier military exercise conducted by the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea since 2014. The series of actions fully exposed the U.S. intention to further contain China. Although the COVID-19 epidemic has left its deep scar on the country, the Trump administration has still escalated military operations in the South China Sea, which are more aggressive and provocative than before. The U.S. militarization has become the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea.