US doubles down on rejecting China's South China Sea claims
July 12, 2021
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comments as tensions rise in the South China Sea waterway. Beijing has claimed large parts of the key shipping route in defiance of an international legal ruling.
Tensions have against been rising in the resource-rich waterway that has been the center of a diplomatic and military row for yearsImage: Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea/REUTERS
Advertisement
The US has warned China that it will defend the Philippines' armed forces from attack in the South China Sea as part of a 70-year-old mutual defense treaty.
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, made the comments late on Sunday ahead of the fifth anniversary of a legal ruling that rejected Beijing's claims to the waters.
What did the Biden administration say?
US President Biden's administration said it backed a Trump-era policy that rejects China's claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea.
"We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty," the top diplomat added.
"Nowhere is the rules-based maritime order under greater threat than in the South China Sea."
What has been happening in the South China Sea?
China believes most of the waters, which sit on a key trading and shipping route, fall under Beijing's control.
But they are also contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, who say portions belong to them.
South China Sea countries are building larger navies
Countries surrounding the South China Sea have been pumping more resources into their navies. China spends more than other regional nations combined, but smaller navies are still acquiring effective fleets.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Drake
Pride of the Chinese armada
The first Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was originally a Soviet model built in 1986. In 1998, the stripped hulk was sold to China by Ukraine and rebuilt by the Dailian Shipbuilding Industry Company in northeastern China. It was completed in 2012 and has been ready for service since 2016.
Image: imago/Xinhua
'Black holes' for Vietnam
In recent years, Vietnam has acquired six Russian Kilo-class submarines. Two were delivered in 2017. The subs are nicknamed "black holes" by the US Navy, because they run very quietly and are difficult to locate. They are specialized for missions in shallow waters and for defense against enemy ships and submarines.
Image: Vietnam News Agency/AFP/Getty Images
Flagship of the Philippines
The BRP Gregorio del Pilar is the flagship of the Philippine Navy. The vessel is one of three former US Coast Guard cutters that were acquired by the Philippines. The ship was first put in service in 1967 and it was modernized in 2011. In 2012, it was involved in the dispute with the People's Republic of China over Scarborough Shoal.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Favila
Warships from European shipyards
Indonesia is in the process of buying new ships and modernizing its navy. Pictured here is the KRI Sultan Hasanuddin, a Sigma-class corvette. The ship was built in 2007 in the Netherlands. Germany also supplies warships to countries in the region. The Kasturi-class corvettes in Malaysia and Brunei's Darussalam-class high-seas patrol boats come from German shipyards.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/A. Ibrahim
Singapore's stealth ships
Singapore is unmatched for hi-tech in the region. Since 2007, the city-state has put six Formidable-class stealth ships in service. All of them were built in France.
Image: Imago/China Foto Press
The long arm of the US Navy
The only truly global naval power remains the US Navy. The seventh fleet is stationed in the Pacific. It is the largest forward-deployed fleet of the US Navy with 50-60 ships, 350 aircraft and 60,000 personnel. This includes the only US aircraft carrier stationed outside of the US, the USS Ronald Regan, stationed at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan.
Chinese air and sea patrols, often operating from artificially built reefs, have been warning shipping away from the area which Beijing considers it to be part of its own territorial waters.
