‘US, China may come to blows over flaws in maritime laws’
A new report says loopholes in maritime laws pose the risk of confrontation between the United States Navy and Chinese military in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
The CNBC report refers to close encounters between the two navies in the disputed waters over the past years and counts certain gaps, discrepancies and different interpretations in maritime laws as reason behind such risky behavior by the two countries.
It says although there are specific codes of behavior in the form of agreements adopted by the US and China, the protocols in place are mostly non-binding, contain exceptions, and at times are interpreted differently by the two sides, highlighting the risk of an unwanted escalation of tensions.
The report refers to a 2013 incident in which a US guided-missile ship veered sharply to avoid a Chinese navy vessel that tried to block its path in the South China Sea.
It added that the next year, Washington said a Chinese fighter jet buzzed within 30 feet (9 meters) of one of its Navy planes.
According to the media outlet, the US, China and other Western Pacific nations signed an agreement called, the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) in 2014, which sets out rules such as safe speeds and distances, the language to be used in communications, and actions in case a ship becomes disabled.
It noted, however, that CUES does not, for example, cover coast guard or other civilian vessels that Beijing has increasingly used to back its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Another international accord that also reportedly failed to fully close the legal gaps was the United Nations' Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS).
UNCLOS provides for countries to set 12 nautical miles from their coasts to treat as sovereign territory and a further 200 miles as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), giving them claim to any fishing or minerals on the seabed, but full freedom of passage to international shipping.
One key difference between Washington and Beijing is the right of military vessels and planes to conduct surveillance in international waters seas, including an EEZ, the report said.
China has repeatedly objected to US military operations off its coasts in the South China Sea, even if they are outside what it claims as its territory. Washington insists normal military activities are allowed in an EEZ under UNCLOS, including surveillance.
Washington accuses Beijing of conducting a massive “land reclamation” program through building artificial islands in the South China Sea, warning that China’s projects could further militarize the region.
China claims most of the South China Sea. Other claimants are Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
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