x******g
发帖数: 33885 | 1 会打起来吗？
U.S. admiral warns against Chinese fighter flights from South China Sea
runways
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Any move by China to fly jet fighters from runways on
its new man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea would be
destabilizing and would not deter U.S. flights over the area, a senior U.S.
naval officer said on Monday.
Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, the commander of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet,
also urged Beijing to be more open over its intentions in the South China
Sea, saying it would relieve "some of the angst we are now seeing".
"We are unsure where they are taking us," Aucoin said of China's recent
moves during briefing with journalists in Singapore.
"So we are going to sail, fly, operate throughout these waters....like we
have been doing for so long," he said.
That, he added, included "flying over that airspace."
Chinese and regional security analysts expect Beijing to start using its new
runways in the disputed Spratlys archipelago for military operations in the
next few months.
It last month tested for the first time the 3,000-metre runway built on a
reclamation on Fiery Cross Reef by landing several civilian airliners from
Hainan island. (Link to previous stories)
Aucoin said he could not give an estimate when he expected Chinese military
jets to start operating in the Spratlys.
"It's a destabilizing uncertainty," he said when asked about the impact of
possible Chinese jet fighter patrols. He said it would raise questions about
the intentions.
China claims much of the South China Sea, while Brunei, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
International concern is growing over tensions in the waterway, which
carries an estimated $5 trillion in trade every year, including oil used by
northeast Asian nations.
Since last October, two U.S. warships have sailed close to Chinese claimed
features in the Spratly and Paracel archipelagoes in so-called freedom-of-
navigation operations that Beijing has warned are provocative.
Chinese officials complained last December that a U.S. B-52 bomber flew
close to one of Beijing's artificial islands.
Other U.S. surveillance and transport planes routinely fly throughout the
South China Sea.
Chinese warships and civilian vessels routinely flank U.S. naval ships in
the area, but Aucoin said engagement between the two navies would continue,
saying the relationship was "positive".
"(The) International Law of the Sea has helped (China) for so many years. We
just want them to respect those rights so that we can all continue to
prosper," he said. |
|
