China: Ignoring UNCLOS, ordering a U.S. Navy cruiser to stop

[Menelik_I]

Consider, for example, the aspect of the event that seemed to stump one of the unnamed military officials consulted for the Stars and Stripes story:

It is unclear why the Chinese vessel wanted the Cowpens to stop.
“I don’t know the intent of the guy driving that PLA ship,” one of the officials said. “I just know that he was moving to impede and harass the Cowpens. I mean, from my perspective, having him stop in the middle of the South China Sea is kind of dumb … [The Chinese saying] ‘Go away, get out of here’ [would make more sense]. But ‘stop’ doesn’t really do anything because all that does is just maintain the status quo.”

The official’s reflections are adequate if China’s perspective in the incident was that she didn’t want Cowpens in the area. But if her perspective was that she wanted to assert rights, and assert them over the area where the event happened, then what China did wasn’t “dumb.” She took, rather, the action calculated to be the most stick-in-the-eye provocative – or even belligerent.
There’s no checklist by which nations are maneuvered by provocations into armed confrontation, and it would be armchair sea-lawyering to conclude that this incident must be a casus belli. I’m stating that up front, so it’s clear that I’m not calling it one. It falls into an exotic gray area, where the U.S. would be justified in having more than mild concern. It’s our choice how to react to it. That understood, there are two important points to make about the Chinese order to Cowpens to stop.


One is that Cowpens is a warship, and as such is held under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to have sovereign immunity at all times on the high seas (i.e., international waters). That means China can’t properly order Cowpens to stop in international waters.
The second point, however, is that the convention on foreign warships, in a nation’s own territorial waters, is that they can be ordered to leave those territorial waters. Inside its own territorial waters, a nation exercises the highest degree of discretion over maritime traffic, but there is no convention by which foreign warships can be ordered, in another nation’s waters, tostop.**
So regardless of whether we assume our national perspective (and the rest of the world’s) that Cowpens was in international waters, or adopt China’s perspective that she was in Chinese waters, it was over the top – beyond the recognized rights of national sovereignty – for China to order Cowpens to stop. That should worry us, because it means China was prepared to show an extraordinary degree of provocation, beyond what she might have done within the bounds of convention to assert her claimed sovereign rights. It’s not just the geographic area of the claim that’s at issue; it’s the scope of what China seems to assert as a right.



http://theoptimisticconservative.wor...top/#more-3508

China is ever more asserting of its unfounded claims over the South China Sea, heck they even won the naming battle out of end, and now they are ordering US Ships to STOP ... maybe next order will be for them to be searched.

I guess this is inevitably going to go in favor of Beijing. What you think ?

[Condottiere 40K]

Ships with rather thicker skins and armoured prows seem suddenly useful.

[athanaric]

Ships with rather thicker skins and armoured prows seem suddenly useful.

Indeed, don't the US still have one or two battleships somewhere? They look more awesome anyway.

[Condottiere 40K]

Indeed, don't the US still have one or two battleships somewhere? They look more awesome anyway.

Unfortunately, would need to outsource staffing to a consortium supplying cheap Chinese coolies to man the battlewagons.

[athanaric]

Unfortunately, would need to outsource staffing to a consortium supplying cheap Chinese coolies to man the battlewagons.

Nah, Filipinos do the same for less money and no conflicting loyalties.

[Pielstick]

Meh.

This stuff used to happen all the time during the Cold War.

Wake me up when they actually start shooting at eachother. Until then feel free to carry on stoking the fires of Sinophobia.

They're coming to get you.

[conon394]

Your source gets a bit Hysterical at the end about Obama -He ignored it with the military but quite correctly but asked civilian airlines to comply. Since the US recognizes the Japanese and ROK zones they will have make double of triple reports in the overlap (and technically we have our own so we cannot object to the basic concept). That does not amount to compliance but a judicious push back that also tries minimize the risk of a Korean Air Lines Flight 007 indecent. Do you really want to be sitting in 747 while three different nations have fighters jostling around you on intercept.

You know this not the first time China has done if you follow the links to Stars and Stripes. Overall it may a spasmodic and crude effort to enforce its South China sea claims but done crudely and likely not even from senior level. I would say the best reaction - contra the blog link - is just to carry on normal USN activity professionally and pretend we don't notice. From the US perspective the point is to look reasonable and operating within International law. Make China look like the bully let them accidentally run into a US ship, take a shot or force down a civilian airliner (or I hope not shot one down).

[Heinz Guderian]

Can we believe what either regime says?

[John ''True Grit'' Wayne]

South China sea well Chinese men should have the road over foreign Americans.

[conon394]

South China sea well Chinese men should have the road over foreign Americans.

We can always start labeling it the East Vietnamese sea or Western Philippines sea or the Spanish East India sea...

[Pielstick]

Established superpower and burgeoning superpower jostling for influence in the latter's backyard. Nothing more, nothing less.

[sleepyx732]

lol.. what business do the Americans have in a place called the South China Sea?

I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

[Roma_Victrix]

lol.. what business do the Americans have in a place called the South China Sea?

I don't know, doing joint exercises with Taiwan? I agree with your overall sentiment, though. Why must the U.S. police the world, including its waters?

[Dante Von Hespburg]

I don't know, doing joint exercises with Taiwan? I agree with your overall sentiment, though. Why must the U.S. police the world, including its waters?

The US has an interest in the area. The whole 'Pivot to the Pacific' thing. So it's less world police this time around, and more maintaining the US's foreign policy. Don't worry, their not doing it out the goodness of their hearts. Their are political and economic reasons aplenty to display strength in that area, and solidarity with US allies in the face of China's dick-waving.

[gaunty14]

lol.. what business do the Americans have in a place called the South China Sea?

I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

To stop crap like this happening, to help stop piracy, to allow free trade etc.

[conon394]

Why must the U.S. police the world, including its waters?

Umm because if you depend massively on international trade carried on international waters it is you interest to make sure that stay free and international...

------------

lol.. what business do the Americans have in a place called the South China Sea?

The name means nothing what matters is that the water in question is not anyone's territory it was International Sea- do you suppose Mexico own the Gulf of Mexico?

[Condottiere 40K]

Chinese commanders and officers are starting to find that an aggressive application of initiative is not penaltizable. At some point though, someone's general staff uncle will be caninely chastised to cool down that head of steam the military Young Turks have run up, once their unLeninist-Marxist adventurism hits an iceberg.

[PikeStance]

Chinese commanders and officers are starting to find that an aggressive application of initiative is not penaltizable. At some point though, someone's general staff uncle will be caninely chastised to cool down that head of steam the military Young Turks have run up, once their unLeninist-Marxist adventurism hits an iceberg.

Holy cow,... I don't know what is more difficult; constructing this or deconstructing lol

as far as naming is concern; I don't think India has much to be concern about. After all China only has two sub seas named after it, while India has a whole Ocean.

[Rijul.J.Ballal]

[QUOTE][/lol.. what business do the Americans have in a place called the South China Sea?QUOTE]
Indeed.

[conon394]

Indeed.

Whatever they want in international waters - one wonder what business than the US in the Indian Ocean [India better start building more ships fast they have a ocean to Patrol]

But hey since the South China sea is just a sub name for part of the Pacific Ocean um err I guess it meaningless now is it not.