Is The U.S. Headed Towards War With China? The Tipping Point that Incites Global War?
- Is The U.S. Headed Towards War With China?
by A former US Senate candidate and political commentator, Mark Dankof, has warned that the United States’ decision to patrol the South China Sea and take a stronger military approach against China may prove to be the tipping point that incites a global war.
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U.S. Plans Military Action In South China Sea
Washington is currently debating the possibility of deploying U.S. Navy ships and aircrafts to the South China Sea. U.S. government officials have shared that the decision has been prompted by a need to inhibit China’s growing aggressiveness in the region. The U.S. may soon conduct “freedom of navigation operations” in the South China Sea.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has reportedly recommending authorizing aerial patrols over China’s claimed islands in the South China Sea. The Defense Secretary has also suggested sending U.S. Navy ships into the 12 nautical mile radius around the Spratly Islands that China has claimed as part of its territory.
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China has continued building artificial islands in the South China Sea despite international arguments against the same. Beijing maintains that its islands are within its legitimate territory and cites historical rights to the same.
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Washington, however, has stated that China is building in international waters and as such, not only are the artificial islands not to be considered legal, actual islands but outposts, they are also in violation of international laws on shared waters and do not count as China’s sovereign territory. Washington’s latest decision to take stronger military action in the region has been inspired by a need to curb China’s growing territory and boldness in the region. By sending its fleet into the waters that China claims as its territorial seas, Washington intends to alert Beijing that it does not consider its claims lawful and does not recognize China’s sovereign rights to the region.
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Most recently, the U.S. has conducted aerial surveillance patrols near China’s outposts in the South China Sea. The U.S. has also been running the USS Fort Worth in close proximity to China’s claimed territories. Details regarding updated surveillance routines and closer patrols have not been shared as yet. The Pentagon is reportedly reviewing different plans and is expected to submit a proposal to the White House to deploy U.S. navy crafts within a 12-mile radius of the artificial islands. The U.S.’ decision on the matter is made all the more complex by the fact that it does, in fact, recognize some islands as part of China’s rightful territory while not extending the same title to others.
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As such, should the U.S. government authorize more robust action in the South China Sea, it will have to navigate its way through an extremely intricate situation- a reality that the Pentagon is clearly weighing into consideration. In May 2015, Press TV reports an unnamed high-ranking U.S. government officer as saying, “We’re just not going within the 12 miles—yet”. Whether the U.S. is now ready to revive that stance remains to be seen.
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American Asia-Pacific Commander Calls For Stronger Action
The head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, is running point on stronger U.S. military action in the South China Sea. The admiral has warned, “If one country selectively ignores these rules for its own benefit, others will undoubtedly follow, eroding the international legal system and destabilizing regional security and the prosperity of all Pacific states”. To ensure that the other claimants in the dispute do not mimic China’s actions in the South China Sea, Admiral Harry Harris has said that the U.S. ought to “exercise freedom of navigation wherever we need to.”
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Admiral Harris has not shared details regarding the proposed operations and has not confirmed the U.S.’ plans to enter into the 12 mile radius of China’s newly constructed islands in the South China Sea.
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Former U.S Senate Candidate Warns Against Likelihood Of War With China
Washington’s possible decision to send its navy into the South China Sea holds the potential to ignite a war, a former U.S. Senate aspirant has warned. Speaking to Press TV on Sunday, October 11, 2015, Mark Dankof compared Washington’s strategies in the South China Sea to the U.S. decision to send its warships into Japan’s seas in 1941.
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