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| Two Royal Australian Navy ANZAC class Frigates underway |
By Greg Austin
China’s artificial islands are of minor interest to Canberra.
It seems that the depth of the Pentagon’s angst surrounding the artificial islands in the South China Sea is not shared in the new Australian government or its naval circles. The Australian newspaper, by contrast, is trying to whip it up as usual by referencing incorrect and misleading statements about China. But there are bigger issues at play in the region that may force the island dispute to lose the heat that it has generated.
The Australian government has followed its U.S. ally by asserting correctly that warships enjoy the right of unimpeded freedom of navigation in water areas outside of the territorial sea of other countries. This seems to be the overwhelming weight of opinion on all sides in Australia. One of the best and calmest articulations of this was an article by retired Admiral James Goldrick in theLowey Interpreter on 29 October (“Why Australia must send its navy to assert the freedom to operate in the South China Sea”). He counselled:
The operation should be conducted without warning and it should not be a matter for an immediate press release. We need to be restrained in the publicizing of our activities.
This tone of restraint is indeed welcome, as other Australia naval specialists, such as retired Commodore Sam Bateman, have also counseled (See: “Why US South China Sea FON Operations Don’t Make Sense”).
Read the full story at The Diplomat