Analysts believe that the reported surge in U.S. military flight activity over waters near China reflects Washington’s attempts to understand and contain China’s expansion in the disputed waters.
According to the website of the Strategic Situational Awareness Program in the South China Sea, a Chinese government-backed research organization, U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft made 60 overflights over the Chinese coast in September, more than they did in July or August.
U.S. Army Maj. Randy Ready, a spokesman for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said in an interview with the Voice of America that the frequency of U.S. military flights near China has been constant.
According to the research organization’s website, most of the U.S. military’s flights are over the South China Sea. Beijing currently claims sovereignty over the resource-rich, 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea, along with five other Asian countries. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in July that Washington would help those countries resist China’s expansion.
Sean King, vice president of political consulting firm Park Strategies in New York, said the U.S. military’s air operations support Pompeo’s words.
Pompeo says China’s actions in the South China Sea are illegal, so the increased frequency of U.S. flights this year could be seen as an echo of the State Department’s July policy statement,” King said. This statement indicated that China’s claims to the South China Sea are illegal.”
Alexander Huang, a professor at the Institute for Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan, said U.S. military pilots may have sensed the U.S. government’s concerns about China’s actions in the air and underwater.
Of particular interest would be the Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippine island of Luzon, because the U.S. ally’s entry point in the South China Sea is not as strong as it is in the East China Sea,” he said. “
From 2010 to 2017, China’s island reclamation and maritime expansion in the South China Sea, citing military, civilian, and resource development justifications, alerted other countries. China’s military is more powerful than that of nearby coastal countries, including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Pompeo earlier this month accused the Chinese Communist Party of using “exploitation, corruption, and coercion” in its treatment of other countries. Beijing is using history as evidence to claim 90 percent of the South China Sea.
The Chinese research group posted an online report on October 12 that said two-thirds of the U.S. military planes that flew missions in September, some of which were disguised as Malaysian or Philippine aircraft, entered the South China Sea. According to the report, the U.S. planes were sent on “spy” missions.
Reddy did not elaborate on the number or purpose of the U.S. flights in September, saying only that the number of flights has always been consistent.
Stephen Nagy, a senior associate professor at the Graduate School of Politics and International Relations at International Christian University in Tokyo, said China is concerned about the U.S. military’s actions because it wants the United States to believe that it cannot defeat China in an air war. Nagy said the U.S. has an advantage in terms of operational and subordinate experience, and the U.S. military could also receive support from allies such as Japan, South Korea and Australia if needed.
“Washington must demonstrate its air power,” Nagy said, “and I think China is trying to create the narrative that any conflict with China is going to be very costly to the United States.”
Reddy said, “U.S. aircraft can continue to make legitimate flights in Asia.”
He said, “While the scope of our operations varies based on the current operating environment, the United States has a continuous military presence and regularly operates throughout the Indo-Pacific region, including airspace and waters near the East and South China Seas.”
He called the U.S. military’s mission “to fulfill our commitments to the region and to defend the freedoms afforded by international law.”
The Indo-Pacific Command tweeted in August that an MV-22B Fish Hawk rotorcraft was preparing to land on the USS New Orleans, an amphibious transport ship. The mission enhances “interoperability with allies and partners” to defend peace and stability in a wide range of waters, including the South China Sea.
The U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, mentioned by the Chinese Naval Institute in a 2018 article on its website, play a key role in Asia, particularly in joint missions with other nations.
The U.S. Navy’s EP-3E White Sheep II electronic surveillance aircraft is another aircraft mentioned by the China research group, which is consistent with the model that forced its landing in China in the 2001 “U.S.-China collision” when it flew just 130 kilometers offshore.
Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said officials in Washington may have viewed the September flight as a routine event.
He said, “What China considers an unusual event, the U.S. may not feel the same way.”
He also said that Southeast Asian countries that have maritime disputes with China would “welcome” more U.S. flights.
In Jin’s judgment, Beijing would not take “real action” against the U.S. reconnaissance planes beyond making a statement.
Recent Comments