2015年CRI US' Action in South China Sea Against International Laws: Experts

 

On Tuesday morning, the naval¹ destroyer USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical² miles of Zhubi Reef in the South China Sea without notifying the Chinese government.

This has raised strong oppositions³ from the Chinese side, as sailing within 12 nautical miles of a territory held by a different country is viewed internationally as a violation⁴ of territorial⁵ sovereignty.

The US Defense⁶ Department claims the ship was conducting routine operations in line with the international law.

Chinese naval expert Yin Zhuo says the US side is in the wrong.

"The right of "innocent passage" insisted by the US sounds plausible⁷, but it has not received widespread recognition around the world. At the same time, international legal documents including the UN Convention on the law of the sea and Convention on the High Seas, along with domestic laws in many countries have clearly stipulated⁸ that any military vessels⁹ have to obtain permission from the local government before entering the country's territory. "

The US government has been promoting a Freedom of Navigation program around the world since 1979, insisting that it is within the framework of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

However, the US itself has not formally ratified¹⁰ that UN treaty.

Two weeks ago, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned the US will fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits, saying there will be no exception to that.

Professor Su Hao with the Center for Strategic and Peace Studies at China Foreign Affairs University says that statement appears directed specifically at China.

"We know that the South China Seas' situation is very complicated. The United States, possibly if it wanted, could sail to some other countries and claimed areas. But it is not the real intention of the United States to provoke other countries, and is intentionally¹¹ trying to make trouble with China."

Naval expert Yin Zhuo says the United States is deliberately¹² intervening in affairs in the South China Sea.

"The main goal of the US is to get more deeply involved in the South China Sea, and is always putting the spotlight¹³ on the area when it comes to talking about China on the international stage. The United States sis taking advantage of the South China sea issue to isolate¹⁴ China from other countries in this region. As such, this could negatively affect China's economic development, especially among the ASEAN Plus 3 and the ASEAN Plus 6 groupings, as well as the free trade area through the Asia and Pacific region."

The US Defense Department is dispatching its new head of its Pacific Fleet to Beijing next week for talks.

Commander Harry¹⁵ Harris will arrive in Beijing on November 2nd to meet with Chinese naval officials to try to ease tensions and avoid any unnecessary escalation¹⁶.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

1 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

2 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

3 oppositions   

（强烈的）反对( opposition的名词复数 )； 反对党； （事业、竞赛、游戏等的）对手； 对比

参考例句：

• That's fine because all perihelic oppositions of Mars are spectacular. 但它和最近的几次区别不大，因为火星所有的近日对冲都很壮观。
• He tried his best to bear down all of his oppositions. 他尽全力击败一切反对意见。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

8 stipulated   

vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的

参考例句：

• A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
• Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀，我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

11 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

12 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

13 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

14 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

15 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

16 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句