The head of the Chinese navy told U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson July 26 China will “never stop” construction of illegal man-made islands in the South China Sea.
China’s hardline position comes just two weeks after an international tribunal rejected all of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. China has pledged to ignore the ruling and has since announced it will commence war drills and combat air patrols in the disputed waters. Richardson’s visit was meant to begin bilateral naval talks between the two countries, but positions have not changed.
Chinese naval officials told Chinese media, the South China Sea is “China’s inherent territory,” and that its construction of man-made islands is “reasonable, justified and lawful.” Richardson pressed back that the U.S. will continue to sail through the South China Sea as it always has, and will not recognize China’s territorial claims. China responded, “Any attempt to force China to give in through flexing military muscles will only have the opposite effect.”
China’s claims and aggressive behaviors in the South China Sea worry the U.S., whose allies in the Asia Pacific are concerned China will impede trade routes and oil exploration. The Council on Foreign Relations noted in 2015 that 5.3 trillion dollars of world goods moved through the South China Sea, with 1.2 trillion of that bound for U.S. shores. Any disruption in this shipping channel would throw world markets into chaos.
China’s navy also warned Richardson that the U.S. should not continue to conduct naval exercises near its islands and respect China’s territorial claims. The U.S. exercised its right to freedom of navigation and sailed the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, near an important artificial Chinese island in October, 2015, protesting China’s actions in the South China Sea. China was so incensed it summoned the U.S. ambassador and told him the move was “extremely irresponsible.”
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