A
day or so ago the US Navy sent a guided-missile destroyer into Russian-claimed
waters in the Sea of Japan in what it called a “freedom of navigation”
operation. The operation comes as the US and Russia are in confrontation over a
variety of serious security issues, including Russia’s violation of the terms of
the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and Moscow’s operations
to control the Sea of Azov and to ultimately control the lands above the Crimea
Peninsula.
The USS McCampbell, an Arleigh
Burke-class destroyer operating from the US Navy base at Yokosuka, in Japan,
sailed near Peter the Great Bay “to challenge Russia’s excessive maritime
claims and uphold the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea enjoyed by
the United States and other nations.” Russia responded that the USS McCampbell
never crossed into Russian waters and the destroyer was under surveillance the
entire time. Russia’s concept of maritime property rights is part of Moscow’s
belief in extended jurisdiction over seabeds.
A US Navy spokesperson said: “US
Forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis. These operations
demonstrate the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international
law allows. That is true in the Sea of Japan, as in other places around the
globe.”
This idea of “Indo-Pacific” is
important to note. US military doctrine toward China and East Asia underwent an
upgrade at the Pentagon in May 2018. US Defense Secretary James Mattis
announced that Pacific Command would now be the US Indo-Pacific Command to
better reflect linkages and values in the region. For the Pentagon,
relationships with Pacific and Indian Ocean allies and partners are proving
critical to maintaining open and free maritime sea lanes.
Mattis stated that “…over many
decades the former Pacific Command adapted to changing circumstance, and today
carries that legacy forward as America focuses west.” The idea of “west” is
meant to underscore Washington’s growing military relationship with India,
which America is working with to counter Chinese maritime influence.
It is significant that as India is
seeking to expand its naval “destiny” with a mix of Russian and European-made
naval assets, Delhi bumps into Chinese regional interests. Attempting to expand
its own interests, commercial activities, and energy goods imports, China has
launched the “String of Pearls” project. This is the construction of a web of
naval infrastructure, including ports and bases, throughout the Indian Ocean
Region (IOR). These activities, along with the arms sales to IOR states, are
rousing fears of Chinese control of blue water sea lanes, fueling an old
rivalry between India and China.
The US Navy’s freedom of navigation
operations have mostly involved making a show of sending ships into contended
waters. The US Navy has conducted several such operations in the South China
Sea, sailing past islands claimed by China near Gaven and Johnson reefs in the
Spratly Islands. Just last week, the US sent the USS Chancellorsville, a
guided-missile cruiser, near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea to
similarly challenge China’s maritime domain.
The US Navy has been exercising
freedom of navigation numerous times over the past year, which is earning the
ire of Beijing. For the Chinese, the US side is posing a grave threat to
China’s sovereignty and security, severely damaged relations between the two
militaries, and significantly undermined regional peace and stability. China
thinks its sovereignty over the islands and their adjacent waters in the South
China Sea is indisputable.
Thus, America is conducting freedom
of navigation exercises around Russia and China as part of the wider move to
protect naval sea lanes in accordance with international maritime law.
What we are seeing is an arc of
maritime points that are coming into sharper focus. The Russia-China-India
triangle in terms of sea lane security is important because of the interplay in
terms of defense sales and technology shared between the three countries. Also,
concepts of sovereignty between the countries, although not present in India
yet, are strong and thus America is focusing on how the three countries use
Belt and Road concepts in terms of sea lane logistics.
Overall, freedom of navigation
exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific theater, stretching from Russia to India
via many waterways and a few chokepoints, is now part of showing US resolve in
terms of open sea lanes. America’s naval operations are supported by a number
of countries in the region and thus state sovereignty is respected from this
viewpoint. What is more important is that threats of coercion that focus on
maritime trade are not rejected on the basis of what Secretary Mattis calls “predatory
economics” as there appear to be many “belts and roads” in the Indo Pacific.
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