Cold War binaries define US adventurism in the South China Sea

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The long-promoted mantra of the Biden administration that upholding "freedom of navigation" in international waters is an American imperative has been exposed again. America’s guided missile cruiser, the USS Chancellorsville, navigated through the South China Sea and raised alarm bells in Beijing over Washington DC’s nefarious activities in the waters which are near the Spratly Islands, which were aptly labeled as an illegal intrusion, given that the archipelago, rich with its oil and gas reserves, remains disputed between regional states, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Brunei, and Vietnam. For the United States to callously venture into unchartered territory and upset the status quo underlining the region, is evidence of its relentless quest to pursue Cold War binaries.  

Such adventurism has less to do with promoting freedom of navigation in accordance with international law and more to do with what the US Seventh Fleet aptly considered as "the PLA Southern Command’s illegal and excessive maritime claims at the expense of other South East Asian countries". Even if the American assertion is taken at face value, there is little doubt that both bilateral mechanisms and multilateral platforms exist for regional states in ASEAN, East Asia, and China to discuss, deliberate, and debate all outstanding disputes in the absence of American interference. Choosing to ignore such realities prompted a backlash from China with the Spokesperson for the Southern Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Tian Junli, equating the Biden administration’s actions as undermining Chinese state sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Bypassing state sensitivities and disrespecting the rule of law is nothing new, however. The "Indo-Pacific strategy" unveiled by the Biden administration in February 2022 speaks of the necessity of ensuring that US military operations continue unabated in rapidly evolving threat environments, critical technology areas, and cyberspace. Its allies such as Canada have unveiled similar strategies that hinge on dividing the Asia Pacific into camps, and pit countries against China. Such decoupling is brazenly taking place in a region that prides itself on non-alignment and neutrality. 

It is hence worthwhile to examine the exact history of American military build-ups in the South China Sea to ascertain whether Washington DC promotes freedom of navigation or Cold War mentalities. Firstly, deployments in the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan have a neocolonial angle that dates back to 1898, when the United States Asiatic Squadron defeated the Spanish in Manila Bay and ushered in a hundred years of uninterrupted deployments. Secondly, in the aftermath of its defeat in the Vietnam War, the US ensured that mild withdrawals from the region did not prevent ships from sailing from its bases in Guam, Japan, and the headquarters of the Pacific Command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This prolonged presence with an anti-China orientation resulted in clashes erupting in 1974, and prompted the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to take effect in 1994. Flawed freedom of navigation narratives predicated on pursuing Cold War mentalities also resulted in tensions between China and neighboring states such as the Philippines, including the standoff witnessed in 2021 over fishing rights. 

Not much has changed in the 2000s either, with American doctrines of successive US Presidents emphasizing on curbing China’s activities and "threats" to free trade in the waterways of the region. Such strategies developed despite evidence of the US military operating in China’s Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Furthermore, the visit by House Speaker Nanci Pelosi to Taiwan complimented existing military footprints and undermined the peaceful reunification of Chinese territory with the mainland. Pelosi’s visit followed controversial demagogues such as Former US Secretary of State of white supremacist President, Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, openly calling for recognizing Taiwan as an independent, sovereign state. It is hence, irrefutable that the objective of the United States is not to uphold a rules-based order in the Asia Pacific, but to draw up plans to antagonize China.  

The accusations that the United States is a security risk maker in the region do carry merit. The sailing of the USS Chancellorsville in unchartered waters as part of America’s Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOP) should be viewed as an offensive move as its guided cruise missiles goes against the spirit of Article 19 of the UNSLOSC, which states that warships transiting through a nation’s territorial waters cannot be prejudicial to peace, good order and the security of the coastal state. Any hegemonic ambition and intrusions into waters adjacent to China’s Nansha Islands and reefs without the permission of the Chinese government also constitutes an act of aggression. 

For US Vice President Kamala Harris to claim in Palawan that the United States is pushing for an international campaign against coercive actions by China in the South China Sea is contradictory. The obsession to militarize and dissuade states from adopting meaningful relationships which China would always threaten strategic stability in the region. The truth is that Washington DC cannot absolve itself from responsibility.