US takes 'unprecedented' sanctions on East Sea because of China
On May 23, 2019, a bipartisan group of US congressmen introduced a bill to Congress to sanction illegal activities in the East Sea and the East China Sea.
Since President Donald Trump took office, the US State Department has repeatedly asked China to stop building artificial islands. The US military has always considered China's illegal construction of artificial islands in Truong Sa as an act of militarization, according to comments in GDVN newspaper.
If the US military cannot freely enter the South China Sea, it could certainly have a serious impact on its ability to move around the world.
The US congressional bill requires the government to confiscate assets in the US, revoke or deny visas to anyone involved in "activities or policies that threaten peace, security and stability" in the East Sea.
The bill also requires the US Secretary of State to report to Congress every six months, identifying Chinese individuals or companies involved in construction or development projects in disputed areas of the East Sea.
The US and China always have military escalations in the East Sea.
The bill targets land reclamation, island building, lighthouse construction and mobile communications infrastructure.
Responding to the above move of the US, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced his opposition to the bill of the group of US congressmen.
China believes that the development of China's military forces at sea does not substantially change the US-China military balance of power in the East Sea region, and certainly does not have a strategic intention to push the US out of the Asia-Pacific region.
However, the US does not think so. The US has urged like-minded countries to increase their presence in the East Sea to help assert their freedom of navigation despite China's unreasonable and illegal sovereignty claims.
