WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The United States defended its patrol on Thursday over Beijing's massive reclamation projects in the South China Sea, warning its military could operate within what China calls territorial waters near artificial islands in the sea area if necessary.
Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. © Reuters
"We will continue to fully exercise our rights globally to the international space," Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a press conference.
"Nobody in their right mind is going to try to stop the U.S. Navy from operating," Russel said.
The U.S. official made the remark a day after CNN reported China's strong reaction to U.S. patrol aircraft flying over an area where China is building artificial land in the South China Sea.
The video taken by a CNN reporter aboard a P-8 surveillance airplane released radio communication with the Chinese military, which says, "Foreign military aircraft, this is Chinese Navy. You are approaching our military alert zone. Leave immediately."
The flight of a reconnaissance plane in the South China Sea is a regular occurrence and frankly an entirely appropriate occurrence "because that is international water, international airspace," Russel said.
Asked by a reporter from a Chinese media outlet why the U.S. military allowed the media crew in the aircraft, Russel said, "I'll answer you in one word. Transparency."
"In a sensitive area like the South China Sea, we think it's important for all parties to have an accurate understanding of what is under way," he added.
"We conduct those missions on a routine basis for maritime domain awareness," Col. Steven Warren, a spokesman of the Defense Department, told reporters Thursday.
The Pentagon spokesman said it would be "the next step" that U.S. military aircraft will possibly fly over waters within 12 nautical miles, or some 22 kilometers, delimiting territorial sea, from land artificially created by China on a reclaimed area.
Warren did not say, however, under what kind of circumstance the U.S. military could go past the 12-nautical-mile line.
Russel voiced hope that China and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will agree to a binding "code of conduct" aimed at preventing conflicts in the South China Sea in their summit slated for November in Kuala Lumpur, in line with their agreement in 2002.
"That is certainly something that I would like to see," Russel said.
China is at loggerheads with some ASEAN members such as the Philippines and Vietnam over the sovereignty of islands in the South China Sea.
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