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| Admiral Scott Swift (Image Wiki Commons) |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
A veiled warning implores Beijing to stop undermining the global rules-based system.
The U.S. commander of the Pacific Fleet issued a veiled warning earlier this week against China to stop threatening the freedom of the seas and undermining the international rules-based system, which has been the foundation of global prosperity.
In remarks clearly directed at China, Admiral Scott Swift told a navy conference in Sydney on October 6 that some nations viewed freedom of the seas – which he called “the golden rule” of the rules-based system – as “up for grabs.” These countries, Swift said, imposed “superfluous warnings and restrictions” on navigational freedom that were inconsistent with international law, with “particularly egregious” limitations in contested waters like the South China Sea.
Swift was referring to manifestations of Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea over the past few years, including the erection of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea and the construction of artificial islands. If such efforts went uncontested, Swift argued in his speech to the Royal Australian Navy Seapower Conference, seen by The Diplomat, it would be a setback for global norms.
“If even one of these restrictions were successful, it would be a major blow to the international rules-based system with ramifications well beyond the maritime domain,” Swift said.
Read the full story at The Diplomat