Opinion

South China Sea: why drones are best kept out of freedom of navigation operations

A recent commentary on a website specialising in national security issues argued in favour of using drones in freedom of navigation operations

However, drones are an inviting target for capture or destruction because they may not have sovereign immunity, increasing the risk of warfare

4-MIN READ4-MIN

A US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft awaits an engine test prior to an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operation at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, in 2019. Photo: US Air Force / AFP

Dr Mark J. Valencia is an internationally known maritime policy analyst, political commentator and consultant focused on Asia.

Published: 1:00am, 13 Jul 2021Updated: 12:55pm, 13 Jul 2021

The South China Sea is already a crucible of contending US-China visions of “the international order”, especially the rules governing “freedom of navigation”. The US undertakes frequent freedom of navigation operations (Fonops) with manned warships and warplanes to challenge what it considers China’s excessive claims, and China vigorously opposes them.

This has already resulted in several near military clashes. Now, a US Navy commander, writing in his personal capacity, has proposed in a commentary on the website War on the Rocks that drones be used for US Fonops. But this would further increase the risk of active warfare.

US Fonops in the South China Sea are arguably already a violation of international law because they can be perceived as a threat to use force against what China considers its sovereignty and territorial integrity. They increase the risk of confrontation and conflict and are thus unwelcome by Southeast Asian states.

Moreover, they are legally unnecessary because diplomatic protests would suffice to register the US position. Most important, they are ineffective as they have not changed China’s policies or stopped actions the US declares unlawful.

The US Navy commander argues that a shift to unmanned Fonops would provide “substantial cost savings, a reduced risk to human life, increased flexibility in escalation dynamics, and an asymmetric answer to geographically advantaged peer competitors in distant oceans”. But there are reasons that the use of drones for this purpose would increase the risk of kinetic conflict.