The INDOPACOM conducted two such operations in 2015 and three in 2016. Since the Obama administration, the Pentagon has launched FONOPs to directly challenge Beijing’s expansive claims in adjacent areas. The disputed waters are not only an artery of global trade, hosting trillions of dollars in annual shipments, but several key US allies and partners also have major interests in the maritime area.įor the Philippines, China’s expansive nine-dash line claims present a direct threat to its sovereignty in the South China Sea, while Japan fears Chinese encirclement of its southernmost islands in Senkaku/Diaoyu and Okinawa.Īs for the communist regime in Vietnam, a key US security partner, the maritime disputes represent an existential challenge, while US strategic partners such as Singapore are worried over disruptions to regional sea lines of communications.
The Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry conducts operations in the South China Sea in 2020.
Over the past decade, the US has steadily expanded its strategic presence in the Indo-Pacific in response to China’s large-scale island-building project in the South China Sea.
The Philippines is also exploring joint patrols with Australia, Japan and the US in the contested waters. The US is also set to host this month top national security officials from Japan and the Philippines to fortify a new trilateral alliance, known as the Japan-Philippine-US (JAHUS), amid growing fears of potential Chinese kinetic action against Taiwan.īoth Japan and the Philippines have naval bases extremely close to Taiwanese shores, making the two US allies key to preparing for as well as deterring any major conflict over the self-ruling democratic island. Meanwhile, the US is also preparing to host Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House while the two treaty allies are expected to conduct their first 2-plus-2 meeting in seven years in April amid booming defense cooperation.Įarlier this year, Marcos Jr greenlighted expanded American access to a host of strategic military bases across the Philippines, including those close to Taiwan’s southern shores and the Western portions of the South China Sea, under the two sides’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). In recent years, both the Trump and Biden administrations have conducted FONOPs at least once every quarter, deploying US warships well within the 12 nautical miles of Chinese-claimed islands in the disputed waters.
US MODERN WARSHIPS FREE
The US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) characterized its latest deployment as part of broader efforts to challenge China’s “nlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea”, which it claims “pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations.” MANILA – The US Navy has conducted its first major freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea in 2023 with the deployment of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) close to the China-occupied Paracel Islands.īack in November, the Pentagon deployed the US guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) to the contested Spratly group of islands. US cranking pressure on China in South China Sea – Asia Times Close Search for:
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