The US will continue to challenge China in the East Sea
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the US will continue to confront and challenge China's militarization in the East Sea.
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| US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Photo: Reuters |
Speaking to reporters yesterday, May 29, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said: "You will notice that only one country seems to have taken strong steps to protest or declare outrage at such actions (militarization of the East Sea), but this is an international sea area where many countries want freedom of navigation,"Reutersquote
"We are on a path of cooperation with Pacific nations, and that is the way we are doing it around the world, but we are also ready to confront what we believe goes against international law," Secretary Mattis emphasized.
The Pentagon chief also added that he would deliver tough messages to China when he travels to Singapore to attend the Shangri-la Dialogue this weekend.
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| US Navy patrol boat. Photo: TL |
Secretary Mattis’s comments came shortly after two US guided-missile warships conducted a freedom of navigation patrol within 12 nautical miles of Cay, Linh Con, Tri Ton and Phu Lam islands in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago on May 27. The Pentagon announced that the US will continue to deploy military assets to conduct patrols to ensure freedom of navigation in the East Sea to protest China’s militarization of this international sea area.
China unilaterally claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, overlapping with the waters of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Experts warn that China may soon complete its illegal militarization of the South China Sea, with Beijing recently deploying military equipment to the area.
Earlier this month,CNBCCiting intelligence sources, the US said that China has brazenly deployed YJ-12B cruise missiles and HQ-9B long-range surface-to-air missiles on Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago.
Not long after, on May 18, for the first time, Chinese bombers openly conducted drills on Phu Lam Island in Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago.Fox NewsCiting satellite imagery taken on May 20, China may have deployed an additional surface-to-air missile system to Woody Island.
