These are the words heard over a crackling radio in a new video posted by CNN this morning, one of at least eight warnings sent to a U.S. P8-A Poseidon surveillance aircraft by the Chinese navy. According to the report, the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s warnings came as the P8-A flew over disputed islands in the South China Sea — specifically, over China’s man-made islands. The report notes that the source of these transmissions was a facility on “an island made by China some 600 miles from its coastline.” The report does not definitively specify which reclaimed reef hosted the facility, but it is implied in comments from the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) P8 fleet that the warning came from an early warning radar facility Fiery Cross Reef. The incident is reported to have occurred on May 20, 2015.
Two matters stand out about this episode. First, the mere fact that we’re seeing this report and, better yet, watching video footage, is a sign that PACOM wants to be very open about this. By inviting a CNN reporter aboard the P8-A, the Pentagon clearly wanted the world to get the message that China is starting to assert its claims to these disputed territories. The report notes that this is the first time the U.S. Department of Defense has declassified video and audio of China’s island-building in the South China Sea and the Chinese navy’s warnings to the United States.
The report is damning to earlier Chinese claims that China’s land reclamation activity had benign intentions, related to marine research, hydrography, and humanitarian rescue and disaster relief. The United States had already said it did not buy that justification for China’s reclamation activities, with one State Department spokesperson noting that the reclamation would not lead to peace and stability, “even if, as some Chinese officials have stated, the facilities in question were used for civilian disaster response purposes.” The United States is eager to have its perspective on China’s reclamation activities seen in the court of public opinion.
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