After Chinese research ships were detected in the United States Arctic waters, an American Navy destroyer sailed near the coast of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Beijing said that its navy drove away the USS Higgins, claiming it had illegally entered its territorial waters off Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal.
In response, the US Navy's Seventh Fleet dubbed China’s statement “false”. The navy said that Higgins "asserted navigational rights and freedoms" near the Scarborough Shoal, consistent with international law.
The USS Higgins is a warship with the U.S. Seventh Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan.
The Scarborough Shoal lies in the middle of the South China Sea. Its position near the shipping lanes carrying an estimated $3.4 trillion of trade makes it a flashpoint for diplomatic flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights.
China, Philippines clash
Just days before the Higgins incident, a Chinese warship had crashed into one of its own coast guard vessels as it chased a patrol boat belonging to the Philippines.
There have been several clashes between Chinese and Filipino ships in the South China Sea, which is claimed entirely by Beijing.
In 2016, an international arbitration court in the Netherlands had dismissed China’s historical territorial claims over the Sea.
But despite that, China continues to assert its authority under its “nine-dash line.”
This has led to frequent clashes between China and other countries surrounding the sea— such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
The constant confrontation between China and other claimants of the South China Sea has led to the intervention of the United States, which has a a mutual defence treaty with the Philippines.
The US Navy frequently conducts Freedom of Navigation Operations to challenge what it sees as Beijing’s “excessive maritime claims”.
There have also been concerns that China might one day build a manmade island there, as it has on submerged reefs in the Spratly islands, some equipped with radar, runways and missile systems.
The escalation in the South China Sea came days after the US Coast Guard witnessed increased Chinese presence in the Arctic near Alaska.
China in Arctic
On August 5, two Chinese research vessels were seen transiting northeast in the Bering Sea.
The US Coast Guard said that its C-130J Hercules long-range surveillance aircraft responded to the Chinese research vessels.
The US Coast Guard further said that five similar vessels were being monitored in or near the polar region, about 290 nautical miles north of Alaska.
The sudden increase in Chinese presence is not new.
The US Coast Guard said that it has been witnessing increased Chinese presence in Arctic waters in the past three years.
Last year, three Chinese research vessels conducted research operations north of the Bering Strait.
Experts see China’s growing presence in the Arctic as a direct response to the US Navy’s patrols in the South China Sea.
Beijing’s deployment is being perceived as a strategic tit-for-tat, sending a clear message to the US— that if you can sail near our doorstep, we can do the same at yours.
Though China maintains that its Arctic expedition is for scientific & icebreaker missions, the US worries that the vessels could be collecting intelligence on US military assets in Alaska.
