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US surveillance aircraft and naval ships have yet to test China’s territorial claims around artificial islands built in the South China Sea, but the Pentagon warned that could be “the next step”.
The United States does not recognise China’s claims of sovereignty around the manmade structures, but American P-8 surveillance planes and naval vessels patrolling the area have not ventured within 12 nautical miles of the artificial islands, the standard territorial zone around natural land, said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren.
Watch: 'Go away!' US Navy spy plane in tense radio exchange with Chinese navy over South China Sea

“That would be the next step,” he told reporters.
Asked if the military would move to within that sensitive zone, he said: “We don’t have any announcement to make on next steps. We are going to continue our routine flights.”
US officials have said they are weighing sending warships and surveillance aircraft within 12 nautical miles of the manmade islands in the South China Sea to test Beijing’s controversial territorial claims, but the move could raise tensions and lead to a standoff on the high seas, in an area vital to global shipping lanes.
China regards almost the whole of the South China Sea as its own.
The comments came after an American television crew on board a P-8 Poseidon plane captured a tense radio exchange between the US aircraft and Chinese forces in the South China Sea.
“This is the Chinese navy... This is the Chinese navy... Please go away... to avoid misunderstanding,” a voice can be heard telling the Americans, according to a video of the exchange released by the US Navy.
The Chinese navy issued eight such warnings during the P-8’s flight near the Fiery Cross Reef, one of the sites of Beijing’s massive land reclamation effort, CNN reported.
American pilots replied in each case that they were flying through “international airspace”.
Journalists are rarely allowed to fly in a sophisticated P-8 spy plane, much less permitted to film inside the cockpit, as the CNN crew was.
The extraordinary access, along with a rare video released by the US Navy from the P-8’s flight, underscored Washington’s determination to focus global attention on China’s large-scale dredging work in the South China Sea.
Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, told a media briefing in Washington the US reconnaissance flight was “entirely appropriate” and that American naval forces and military aircraft would continue to fully exercise the right to operate in international waters and airspace.
He said the United States would go further to preserve the ability of all countries to move in international waters and airspace.
“Nobody in their right mind is going to try to stop the US Navy from operating, that would not be a good bet,” he said.
"But it’s not enough that a US military plane can overfly international waters, even if there is challenge or hailing query. We believe that every country and all civilian actors should have unfettered access to international waters and international airspace."
The Chinese warnings to the US aircraft are typical and occur frequently, a navy official said.
“It’s not uncommon,” the official said.
China also sends military aircraft to visually identify American planes in the area, the official added.
With Beijing pursuing land reclamation at an unprecedented pace, a US naval commander has accused China of building a “great wall of sand” in the South China Sea to bolster its territorial claims.
A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said he was not aware of the incident.
“China has the right to engage in monitoring in the relevant airspace and waters to protect the country’s sovereignty and prevent accidents at sea,” ministry spokesman Hong Lei said during a regular press briefing. 
“We hope the relevant country can earnestly respect China’s sovereignty in the South China Sea.”
 


US to press on with surveillance flights amid tensions in the South China Sea

A US Navy crewman on board a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft flying near a Chinese man-made island in the Spratly Islands in a disputed area of the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters

Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy. Photo: Reuters

China navy warns US spy plane in disputed South China Sea

A designer's rendition of a US P8-A Poseidon surveillance and submarine warfare plane. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Beijing ‘will push ahead’ building in disputed areas of South China Sea

Satellite images published by IHS Jane's Defence Weekly showing China's construction of an airstrip in reclaimed areas of a reef in the disputed Spratly Islands. China's neighbours in the South China Sea are alarmed by Beijing's build-up in the contested region. Photo: SCMP Pictures

China warns US not to send warships to disputed South China Sea waters

USS Fort Worth (LCS-3). Photo: Naval Surface Warriors

Options being considered include sending US aircraft and ships within 22 km of reefs that China has been building up in the Spratly island chain. File photo: EPA

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US wants to exercise right to fly through international air space, says Pentagon, after China warned US aircraft away from artificial islands at centre of row with neighbouring countries
