China May Gain Control of South China Sea, U.S. Navy Says

By David Tweed

(Bloomberg) — China’s island constructing program within the South China Sea could end in it gaining management of a few of the world’s most essential waterways, the U.S.’s most senior navy commander for Asia stated.

“If this activity continues at pace, is that it — those would give them de facto control” of the maritime territory they declare, Admiral Samuel Locklear, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, advised the U.S. Senate. Locklear stated China may set up long-range detection radars, base warships and warplanes on the islands, doubtlessly giving it the power to implement an air protection identification zone.

Satellite pictures this month confirmed pictures of Chinese dredgers at work at Mischief Reef within the Spratly Islands, a characteristic additionally claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. President Barack Obama stated April 10 that the U.S. is anxious that China is utilizing its “muscle and power” to dominate smaller nations within the area.

Locklear stated the tempo of China’s constructing program was “astonishing” and added that the islands would enhance China’s potential to find a maritime safety pressure within the waters that will be bigger than the mixed coast guards of the Southeast Asian nations.

China claims about four-fifths of the South China Sea, residence to a few of the world’s busiest transport lanes, below a so-called nine-dash line drawn on a Nineteen Forties map. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei additionally declare territory within the waters.

Minimum Defense

China says it has a proper to hold out building work on its sovereign territory within the South China Sea.

“It certainly complicates the security environment,” stated Locklear. Efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to work with China to develop a code of conduct within the South China Sea haven’t “produced very much at all.”

Locklear stated the U.S. has reinvigorated its alliance with the Philippines and is serving to its authorities enhance its minimal protection.

To assist enhance safety within the area, the U.S. had additionally developed partnerships with nations that it wouldn’t have thought of doable over the previous 20 years, he stated, citing Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Locklear stated the rising quantity and technical sophistication of the submarines within the Indo-Pacific was altering the dynamic of how the U.S. navy operates within the space. He estimated that of the 300 submarines on the earth that aren’t U.S. vessels, 200 are within the Indo-Pacific, which he stated was the “most militarized part of the world.”

Locklear stated Asian nations are constructing their submarine capabilities as a result of they perceive the vessels afford them the power to disclaim entry to enemies, in addition to their worth as a deterrent.

Conflict with China isn’t inevitable, he stated.

“A China with a military that would come forward as a net provider of security, rather than a net user of security would be beneficial to not only the region, but would be beneficial to us,” he stated.

(An earlier model of this story was corrected to make clear that the estimate of 300 submarines is for non-U.S. vessels, not the worldwide complete.)