By Sean P. Henseler
The current administration must approve these operations as soon as possible.
Until 1951, the U.S. Navy was governed by the Articles for the Government of the United States Navy, also known as “Rocks and Shoals”in part because Article 4, Section 10 stated that the punishment of death could be inflicted on any person in the naval service who intentionally or willfully caused a vessel to be “run upon rocks or shoals.”
While reports indicate that movement is being made in this direction, the current administration thus far appears willing to risk the ability of U.S. ships and aircraft to freely navigate vast portions of the Pacific Ocean by failing to conduct lawful ‘freedom of navigation’ operations (FONOPs) in response to blatantly illegal Chinese actions regarding rocks, shoals, and reefs in the South China Sea (SCS). In so doing, policymakers are willfully running U.S. presence in this vital region into metaphorical rocks and shoals. The danger to U.S. national security cannot be overstated, and these operations must be conducted as soon as possible.
As reflected in the March 2015 U.S. Department of Defense Freedom of Navigation fact sheet [PDF], “Since the founding of the nation, the United States has asserted a vital interest in preserving freedom of the seas and necessarily called on its military forces to preserve that interest.” Similarly, the U.S. Department of State website on Maritime Security and Navigation [PDF] makes it clear that the United States will not “acquiesce in the unilateral acts of other states designed to restrict the rights and freedoms of the international community in navigation and overflight and other related high seas uses.”
Yet, despite these unambiguous assertions, the current administration appears content to allow illegal Chinese actions in the SCS that clearly infringe upon freedom of navigation to go unchallenged out of a perceived fear of escalation, miscalculation, or both. While verbal protests by government officials place China on notice that the U.S. objects to their unlawful claims, they are insufficient to alter Chinese behavior, bolster the confidence of regional partners, or ensure U.S. freedom of navigation rights. It is critical that the U.S. Navy conduct FONOPs now to make it crystal clear to China and nations around the world that the U.S. will not stand for any unlawful infringement on its navigational rights.
Read the full story at The Diplomat