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| Image: Flickr User - Greg Bishop |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
PACOM commander Harry Harris reveals what the future outlook might be for US FONOPs.
U.S. freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea will increase not only in number but also in scope and complexity amid China’s growing control of surrounding waters, the commander of the U.S. military forces in the Asia-Pacific said Tuesday.
While U.S. officials are fond of reiterating that FONOPs have been in place for decades and are not directed at any one country, the FONOP conducted by the USS Lassen last October by transiting inside 12 nautical miles of five maritime features in the Spratly Islands claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines last year had drawn Beijing’s ire. Since then, many have been wondering about the future shape of U.S. FONOPs, including which features might be included as well as whether Washington could begin doing them with other allies and partners such as Japan and Australia.
Speaking on January 27 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Admiral Harry B Harris Jr., the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), confirmed that U.S. FONOPs can be expected to not only become greater in number, but also more broader in scope as well as more complex.
Read the full story at The Diplomat