2016年CRI US Incursion Aimed at Renewing Tension: Experts（在线收听）

In the latest move to conduct what it calls Freedom of Navigation exercises, the U.S. Navy sent a guided-missile destroyer, the Curtis Wilbur, to sail within 12 nautical miles of Zhongjian Dao in the Xisha Islands chain on Saturday without authorization. 

The incident took place just days after U.S. Pacific Commander Harry Harris vowed to continue to challenge China's position on the South China Sea during a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. 

Chinese military observer Song Zhongping said one of the US' goals is to bring tension back to the region. 

"Obviously, the provocation was aimed at plunging the South China Sea into chaos again and it is expected to help the US to profit from the escalating tensions." 

The US has sent warships or aircraft into Chinese-controlled waters or airspace a number of times since late last year. 

In October, the US Navy sent a guided missile destroyer Lassen within 12 nautical miles of the Nansha Islands. 

And in December, two U.S. bombers flew into the airspace over a Chinese-controlled island and reef in the same waters. 

Liang Fang, with the PLA National Defense University, said Washington aims to test Beijing in relation to the sea. 

"Washington aims to test Beijing's bottom line on the sea and is also attempting to defy China's sovereignty over the waters. Its logic is that if the US ships can enter waters off Xisha Islands where China has demarked territorial waters, they can do the same to the Nansha Islands where no baseline has been announced so far."

Liang Fang said renewing the tension will also showcase US support to some countries that have disputes against China on the South China Sea. 

Saturday's incursion saw Chinese troops on the islands, as well as Chinese Naval vessels and warplanes, take immediate action to identify and verify the U.S. vessel before demanding it leave. 

Liang Fang defended the measures taken by the Chinese troops.

"Any ship needs to apply for an approval before entering the territorial waters of a foreign country. A country can choose not to rectify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. But it doesn't mean that this country can defy the law and send its vessels into other countries' territorial waters without authorization." 

At the same time, Liang Fang suggested China should stick to its construction plan for the South China Sea and take further countermeasures in case of provocation. 

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.