US Navy ship makes first China visit since Hague ruling

A US Navy guided missile destroyer arrived in Qingdao on Monday in the first visit by an American warship to the country since an international tribunal ruled China’s expansive South China Sea claims had no basis in law.

Analysts said the port visit by the US warship was a good sign of the willingness of the two countries to keep channels of communication open despite deepening tensions over the South China Sea, but such goodwill would not change the two countries’ fundamental opposition on the region’s maritime disputes.

The USS Benfold held a signals exercise with the Chinese navy after arriving in the home port of China’s North Sea Fleet. Commander Justin Harts said the visit aimed to “build relationships” with the Chinese navy. Harts referred questions on tensions in the South China Sea to the US Pacific Command in Hawaii.

China rejected last month’s ruling at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in a case initiated by the Philippines and refused to take part in the tribunal set up in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing strongly criticised the US for encouraging Manila to take legal action and for calling on Beijing to respect the ruling.

Beijing has also strongly protested against the agreement between Washington and Seoul to deploy an advanced US missile defence system in South Korea, which China sees as a threat to its national security.