{"id":42558,"date":"2018-10-09T14:44:37","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T03:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=42558"},"modified":"2018-10-11T16:00:22","modified_gmt":"2018-10-11T05:00:22","slug":"freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

The recent close encounter between USS Decatur<\/em> and the Chinese Luyang II\u2013class guided-missile destroyer Lanzhou<\/em> has attracted much attention in the media. There\u2019s little doubt that the Chinese ship created a dangerous situation in breach of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea<\/a>, which requires a vessel that\u2019s overtaking another to keep out of its way until \u2018finally past and clear\u2019.<\/p>\n

For a 7,000-tonne displacement ship to pass within 45 yards of another of 8,000 tonnes\u2014an allegation apparently confirmed by the still video footage<\/a> leaked by a US source\u2014in such circumstances was also in contravention of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea<\/a>, which enjoins warship captains to act with prudence. Both China and the United States are signatories to this admittedly \u2018voluntary and non-binding\u2019 agreement.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s possible to make too much of the incident. First, there have been much more serious encounters<\/a> with Soviet units in the past\u2014and close calls continue<\/a> with Russian vessels. In 1988, the Soviet frigate Bezzavetny<\/em> deliberately collided side-by-side with the American cruiser Yorktown<\/em> in the Black Sea (an act known as \u2018graunching\u2019 or \u2018shouldering off\u2019). The destroyer Caron<\/em>, in company with the Yorktown<\/em>, was shouldered by a smaller Mirka-class corvette. The two American ships were conducting the same type of FONOPS as the Decatur <\/em>in 2018\u2014asserting their right to innocent passage through territorial waters without prior notification.<\/p>\n

Second, contemporary FONOPS<\/a> are not only about China. The most recent annual report<\/a> by the US Department of Defense shows that the US Navy conducted such operations against 22 nations during 2017. These include countries as diverse as Slovenia and Oman, as well as Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. In the past, even Sweden has been challenged on its prior notification requirement.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s FONOPS are not a comment on the validity of China\u2019s claims (or any other nation\u2019s claims) to islands or rocks in the South China Sea, but they do show the US position (shared by numerous other governments, including Australia\u2019s) that artificial islands don\u2019t generate territorial entitlements. The US Navy\u2019s operations were initially focused on the American interpretation of the Convention on the Law of the Sea that warships aren\u2019t required to give prior notification when conducting innocent passage through another nation\u2019s territorial seas. China is of the view that such notification is required.<\/p>\n

More recently, FONOPS in the Spratly Islands have been extended to include demonstrations of the US view that artificial islands built over features which don\u2019t \u2018dry\u2019 at high water\u2014that is, aren\u2019t above the surface\u2014do not generate a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles, but only a safety zone of 500 metres.<\/p>\n

By passing both Gaven and Johnson reefs, USS Decatur <\/em>dealt with both situations. Gaven Reef didn\u2019t dry at high water before its artificial island was built; South Johnson did. But in stating that the Decatur<\/em> passed by Johnson Reef, the US Navy didn\u2019t specify whether the FONOP had been confined to South Johnson Reef. Vietnam has an outpost on North Johnson Reef and has been the subject of previous American operations for the same reason as China\u2014to deny the claim that prior notification is required for innocent passage.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the US isn\u2019t the only nation to conduct FONOPS in the area. The British amphibious ship Albion <\/em>recently conducted an operation<\/a> near the Paracel Islands, most likely to deny the excessive baselines that the Chinese have drawn around the group. The French haven\u2019t been forthcoming about whether their frigate, the Vend\u00e9miaire<\/em>, conducted a FONOP<\/a> in the South China Sea early in 2018, but they didn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n

Yet FONOPS are not the real concern. Despite much rhetoric about sea lines of communication, the problem isn\u2019t about merchant shipping. Although the \u2018iron highway\u2019 that passes through the sea is one of the world\u2019s most important shipping routes, it lies well away from the Spratly Islands. China, as one of the nations most dependent on the passage of shipping through the region, has no possible interest in its interruption. In this regard, China\u2019s constant claims<\/a> that commercial shipping has never been and will not be impeded can be accepted at face value\u2014<\/em>in the absence of knowledge of any intent about future Chinese state behaviour that shows otherwise, short of major conflict.<\/p>\n

The real issue is military dominance of the sea. China\u2019s artificial island building\u2014along with its other works in the Paracel Islands, the progressive development of base facilities and sensors, and the increasing levels of naval and air activity\u2014suggest that China aims to control the South China Sea as a whole. The motivation for this may include long-term plans to use the deep-water areas to the north of the Spratlys as a bastion for ballistic-missile submarines. There\u2019s certainly also an element of \u2018Great Wall\u2019 thinking involved, which may derive from China\u2019s still land-centric, continentalist strategic culture.<\/p>\n

How much further China wants to go is now the key question. Beijing\u2019s constant challenging of the presence of foreign military units in the South China Sea suggests that it would like to prohibit any external presence. It has recently embarked on a diplomatic campaign to reassure ASEAN<\/a> of its peaceful intentions. This has included a renewed enthusiasm for the long-delayed code of conduct for the South China Sea. Significantly, however, China has proposed a provision in the draft code that would prohibit any littoral state from conducting naval and air exercises with non-regional powers without the consent of the other signatory nations. The implied message is clear.<\/p>\n

As to the response, it can only be through the continued presence of Australian and other nations\u2019 forces, demonstrating both our own interests and our commitment to the South China Sea remaining a shared space, with the concerns of all the littoral states recognised in the manner of its use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent close encounter between USS Decatur and the Chinese Luyang II\u2013class guided-missile destroyer Lanzhou has attracted much attention in the media. There\u2019s little doubt that the Chinese ship created a dangerous situation in breach …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":42588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[52,1522,1008,471,289],"class_list":["post-42558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-china","tag-fonops","tag-sea-control","tag-south-china-sea","tag-us-navy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The recent close encounter between USS Decatur and the Chinese Luyang II\u2013class guided-missile destroyer Lanzhou has attracted much attention in the media. There\u2019s little doubt that the Chinese ship created a dangerous situation in breach ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-09T03:44:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-10-11T05:00:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/USS-Decatur-incident-800x475.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"475\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Goldrick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Goldrick\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/USS-Decatur-incident-800x475.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/USS-Decatur-incident-800x475.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":475},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/\",\"name\":\"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-09T03:44:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-11T05:00:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be\",\"name\":\"James Goldrick\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Goldrick\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/james-goldrick\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea | The Strategist","og_description":"The recent close encounter between USS Decatur and the Chinese Luyang II\u2013class guided-missile destroyer Lanzhou has attracted much attention in the media. There\u2019s little doubt that the Chinese ship created a dangerous situation in breach ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2018-10-09T03:44:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-10-11T05:00:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":475,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/USS-Decatur-incident-800x475.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James Goldrick","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Goldrick","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/USS-Decatur-incident-800x475.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/USS-Decatur-incident-800x475.jpg","width":800,"height":475},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/","name":"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-10-09T03:44:37+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-11T05:00:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/freedom-of-navigation-operations-arent-all-about-the-south-china-sea\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Freedom-of-navigation operations aren\u2019t all about the South China Sea"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be","name":"James Goldrick","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Goldrick"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/james-goldrick\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42558"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42558"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42645,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42558\/revisions\/42645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}