bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Liu Zhen

An American warship’s patrol within a 12-nautical-mile (22km) limit around Mischief and Subi reefs in the South China Sea on Tuesday was all part of a carefully planned and well-played game to make China lose face, says a mainland analyst.
No legitimate claim existed covering the area of sea in which the two reefs were situated, said Xue Li, an expert in international affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“The US patrol by the USS Lassen did not violate international law,” Xue said.
“It was a political game – just to make the Chinese lose face, especially as the Communist Party’s Fifth Plenum is going on.”
READ MORE: US ‘playing with fire’: Chinese media’s fury after warship sails near disputed South China Sea islands

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
The mainland has been building military and civilian facilities on seven reefs of the Spratly archipelago since late 2013.
Three of the seven – Subi, Mischief as well as Gaven – are so-called “low-tide elevations”, which lie above water only at low tide.
READ MORE: Beijing has options if US escalates challenge to its claims in South China Sea
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, natural islands are able to claim a territory of 12-nautical-miles of sea that surrounds it.
However, a low-tide elevation has no territorial claim to sea surrounding it.
Although Mischief and Subi have now become the first and second largest permanent areas of land on the Spratly archipelago after months of reclamation, man-made islands are not recognised by the international law.
In practice, they could have only a “safety zone” radius of 500 metres, Xue said.
READ MORE: US, China to hold talks on American warship’s patrol in disputed area of South China Sea
Yet since the destroyer USS Lassen never came as close as 500 metres during its patrol, China was able to make only symbolic political gestures, such as protesting, and summoning Max Baucus, the US ambassador to China, Xue added.
In fact, in their protests, Chinese diplomats have never referred to the area that USS Lassen entered as its territorial sea.
Instead, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, ministry spokesman Lu Kang, and Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US, all described it as “waters near the relevant reefs”.
China has drawn a U-shaped demarcation line around most of the South China Sea.
However, it has never announced its sea territorial baselines in the Spratly region.
“China has intentionally kept it murky, and will not be likely to clarify things in the near future,” Xue said.
 


Who is winning the fight for the South China Sea’s resources?

What is Beijing’s 9-dash line in the South China Sea and what does it mean?

South China Sea: why Beijing takes a low-key approach to Vietnam but not the Philippines

China vows ‘strong measures’ against Philippines over encroaching ships in South China Sea

South China Sea: Background

Why did the US choose the Subi and Mischief reefs for its South China Sea patrol?

The destroyer USS Lassen patrolled inside the 12-nautical-mile (22km) limit around two Chinese-built reefs in the South China Sea on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

War of words: Beijing fumes as US threatens to send more warships near disputed South China Sea islets 

The USS Lassen, which on Tuesday sailed within 12 nautical miles (22km) of at least one of the land formations claimed by China in the disputed Spratly Islands chain. File photo: Kyodo

South China Sea dispute: the three Chinese and US ships involved in the escalating row

The USS Lassen (foreground) during earlier exercises. File photo: EPA

Photo: SCMP Pictures

Photo: Kyodo

Calmer waters: From security to the South China Sea, greater China-Asean cooperation is in everyone's best interest

China supports a more prosperous and stronger Asean, its member states and the grouping's centrality in regional cooperation. 

Defence Minister Chang Wanquan (fourth from right) gets together with his Asean counterparts at an informal meeting in Beijing. Photo: Reuters 

An aerial photo taken through a glass window of a military plane shows China's alleged ongoing reclamation in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Photo: AP

This photo released by the US Navy shows Chinese trawlers in front of the USNS Impeccable, which forced the surveillance vessel to a halt in the South China Sea, in an incident in March 2009. Photo: AP

Police officers inspect metallic debris found on a beach on the French Reunion Island, close to where where a Boeing 777 wing part believed to belong to missing flight MH370 washed up. Photo: AFP


Fish are unloaded and sorted ready to be sold at Phuket's main harbour, Thailand. Fisheries are an important source of protein for most of East Asia.

Warships sent, US ambassador called in as China bolsters Navy presence in disputed Spratly islands, after US sail-by rattles Beijing's sovereignty claims

The Chinese destroyer Lanzhou. Photo: People's Liberation Army

Chinese sailors welcome the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen at a dock in Shanghai in 2008. Photo: Reuters

Dredgers fill the lagoon of Mischief Reef in the Spratly archipelago, in this image shot by the US Navy on May 15 this year. The reclamation is seen by the US and other nations as part of Chinese efforts to bolster sovereignty claims. Photo: Reuters

Reclamation work on Subi Reef is seen in this photo taken from a nearby island five months ago. Photo: Reuters

The Chinese destroyer Lanzhou. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Vietnam asked Philippines to form pact to counter China, Aquino reveals

Philippine President Benigno Aquino during the interview at the presidential palace. The yellow ribbon is a symbol of his famous parents. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Philippine President Benigno Aquino points to a copy of China's nine-dash line map. Photo: AFP

President Aquino talks about navigating diplomacy and South China Sea issues. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Philippine President Benigno Aquino gave his longest ever interview to the Post's Raissa Robles. Aquino revealed that Vietnam had suggested a new “strategic partnership” to fend off China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A crewman from the Vietnamese coastguard ship 8003 looks out at sea as Chinese coastguard vessels give chase to Vietnamese ships that came close to the Haiyang Shiyou 981, known in Vietnam as HD-981, oil rig in the South China Sea in this July 15, 2014 file photo. Photo: Reuters

China building structures and depositing sand around the disputed Mischief Reef in the South China Sea, according to recent satellite photos. Photo: Reuters

Members of Bayan Muna (Country First) Party List group display placards during a picket rally in Manila over territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters

Philippine President Benigno Aquino points to a copy of China's nine-dash line map. Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

China

Diplomacy