South China Sea: Ships from US, Australia and Japan conduct joint drills in defiance of Beijing

Warships from the United States, Australia and Japan conducted joint drills in the South China Sea, challenging Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the region. The US 7th Fleet, responsible for most US Navy operations in the area, announced that the guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn and combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords participated in operations alongside navy vessels from Japan and Australia on Wednesday and Thursday.

Details regarding the proximity of the exercises to islands and shoals claimed by Beijing, where China has constructed military bases on several islands using concrete and sand atop coral atolls, were not disclosed. China vehemently opposes foreign naval activities in the region, citing historical records to assert its ownership of the area.

Each year, an estimated $5 trillion in international commerce passes through the South China Sea, which also holds vital fish stocks and underwater mineral resources.

The U.S. takes no formal stand on sovereignty in the area but rejects China’s claims, partly based on a 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed court in The Hague. There was no immediate reaction to the exercises from China’s Defense Ministry.

“This multinational sail fortifies our relationship between the U.S., Japan and Australian allies,” Cmdr. Earvin Taylor, John Finn’s commanding officer, said in a statement from the 7th Fleet. “We promote transparency, rule of law, freedom of navigation and all principles that underscore security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”

Australian Commodore Jonathan Ley said in the statement that such deployments are “crucial for enhancing mutual understanding and our ability to operate together.”

The U.S., Australia and Japan also operate together in a strategic alliance known as the Quad that also includes India, a Chinese rival in Asia.

The Quad has frequently accused China of flexing its military muscles in the South China Sea and aggressively pushing its maritime territorial claims.

Beijing maintains that its military is purely defensive and protects its sovereign rights, and calls the Quad an attempt to contain its economic growth and influence.

The navies of the four countries regularly hold drills seen as part of an initiative to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Pacific and Indian oceans and waters surrounding Taiwan. China and Japan also claim exclusive ownership over an uninhabited island group in the East China Sea controlled by Tokyo, with China routinely dispatching ships and planes to the area.

China applies similar tactics with Taiwan, a self-governing island republic of 23 million that it claims as its own territory, to be conquered by force if necessary. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it had detected four Chinese ships operating in the area and that it had, as usual, upgraded security ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday starting at the end of the week.

With inputs from AP.