By Shannon Tiezzi
Reports indicate the Pentagon and some sections of Congress are frustrated with the White House’s cautious approach.
In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Defense was considering sending Navy surveillance aircraft and vessels within 12 nautical miles of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea, violating what Beijing claims as its territorial waters and airspace. Since then, though the U.S. has made a point of publicizing its patrols in the region – including by inviting a CNN camera crew on boarda surveillance operation in May, and having a Pacific Fleet commander on board another flight in July – so far, the U.S. Navy has not publicly admitted to conducting operations within 12 nm of any Chinese-controlled features.
According to a new report from Politico, the delay stems from a disagreement between the White House and the Pentagon over the wisdom of such operations. The crux of the debate is the Pentagon’s view that China’s artificial features, as man-made constructions, are not entitled to a 12 nm territorial zone. By maintaining that distance from those features, military analysts worry that the U.S. is effectively lending credence to China’s attempts to alter the status quo. As U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter put it at the Shangri-La Dialogue, “After all, turning an underwater rock into an airfield simply does not afford the rights of sovereignty or permit restrictions on international air or maritime transit.”
Meanwhile, detractors in the White House worry that deliberate (and public) U.S. operations within the 12 nm zone would escalate tensions in the volatile region, as China would respond to a perceived violation of its territory. In a worst-case scenario, that could result in a confrontation between U.S. and Chinese military assets, potentially leading to shots fired. Thus, the White House has decided to tread carefully – at least so far. That will become more difficult as opponents of the more cautious strategy make their grievance public.
Read the full story at The Diplomat