Fiery Cross Reef, a contested geographic feature in the South China Sea, is the latest site for the growing maritime tensions between China and the United States.
Early on Tuesday, the U.S.S. William P. Lawrence, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, transited within 12 miles of the reef for what is now the third freedom of navigation operation (FONOPS) carried out by the U.S. Navy since Beijing began construction of artificial islands on several reefs and rocky outcrops in 2014. In response, China scrambled fighter jets and sent naval vessels to monitor the William P. Lawrence’s transit through Beijing’s claimed waters.
The Pentagon maintains that the operation was within its rights as defined by international law. However, Lu Kang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, released a statement that the U.S. ship’s passage “threatened China's sovereignty and security interests, endangered safety of personnel and facilities on the reef, and jeopardized regional peace and stability” before adding that China “will continue to take necessary measures to protect [its] sovereignty and security.”
Both Washington and Beijing have restated their policy positions on FONOPS in the wake of the incident. Daniel Russel, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has asked “If the world’s most powerful navy cannot sail where international law permits, then what happens to the ships, the navy, of a smaller country?’’ Beijing contends that such naval operations are additional proof that its newly constructed installations are indeed necessary for protecting its sovereignty.
This third FONOPS operation occurred just weeks before an important court decision by the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration that will decide maritime zone entitlements for Fiery Cross Reef and 9 other contested features in the South China Sea. While the ruling is unlikely to side with China, it remains to be seen if Beijing will comply or how the court’s decision could be enforced. Like the reef’s namesake, a 19th century British clipper that ran aground while sailing through a typhoon, attempts at an easy settlement are doomed to founder.
Will Edwards is an International Producer with The Cipher Brief.
