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Commentary: Washington should stop acting as back driver over S. China Sea

Xinhua, May 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Recent statements made by some U.S. military officials are contrary to regional peace and stability, and it is Uncle Sam who should explain its irresponsible behavior over the South China Sea.

During an interview in Singapore earlier this week, Michelle Howard, vice-chief of the U.S. Naval Operations, said China needs to explain what is really going on in the South China Sea amid reports of construction activities there.

The senior U.S. military official also gave assurance about her country's support to ASEAN members who have territorial disputes with China, saying the U.S. Navy is capable of sending ships within 12-nautical miles where China's reclamation works are in progress.

In fact, it is not the first time for the U.S. military to flash such threatening signals in an attempt to overbear China to stop its legal construction activities in its own territory.

Before Howard's remarks, a U.S. official said the Pentagon is considering sending U.S. military aircraft and ships to "assert freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea.

Those irresponsible, to some extent, provocative statements equal a flame stoker for regional instability that may further lead to miscalculation and misinterpretation and deteriorate the situation in the sea, instead of asserting freedom of navigation.

The South China Sea disputes, to which the United States is not a party, are between China and other claimants and should be handled by those directly involved in a peaceful way.

Moreover, it can hardly be accepted as a coincidence that the previously calm South China Sea has lost its tranquility since Washington embarked on its "Pivot to Asia" strategy.

As a matter of fact, China's construction in the South China Sea is within its sovereignty, aiming to provide service for marine search and rescue, disaster prevention and reduction, and navigation safety, as well as fulfilling the country's international responsibilities and obligations.

Therefore, Washington's botheration over the so-called maritime safety is groundless and ill-motivated. The freedom of navigation in the sea has been fully guaranteed, since China's construction is peaceful and beneficial to the public.

Actually, it is the United States that should make a reasonable explanation about its repeated, unflagging and biased interferences in territorial disputes involving China and other countries. Such senseless meddling not only hamper a peaceful solution to such disputes, but also aggravate regional instability.

As an influential country, the United States should take an objective and fair view on the disputes in the South China Sea, honor its commitment of not taking sides, and stop acting as a back driver on the issue. Endi