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So who is winning the cold war for the South China Sea?
This week the US sailed a destroyer within the 12 nautical mile limit of artificial islands claimed by China as sovereign territory with relative impunity after invoking freedom of navigation. The mission lasted under an hour as the USS Lassen was shadowed by a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, however China did not confront the US destroyer although it issued warnings.
However, the Chinese have reversed their previous claim of not militarizing the islands and have instead vowed to rapidly develop the defensive capabilities of their assets in the SCS in response. Analysts hold varying conclusions of the incursions with many saying that the US has successfully made a point of observing free navigation and many saying the maneuver had the opposite effect of reinforcing China's claim to sovereignty by acknowledging it and challenging it.
This week the US sailed a destroyer within the 12 nautical mile limit of artificial islands claimed by China as sovereign territory with relative impunity after invoking freedom of navigation. The mission lasted under an hour as the USS Lassen was shadowed by a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, however China did not confront the US destroyer although it issued warnings.
However, the Chinese have reversed their previous claim of not militarizing the islands and have instead vowed to rapidly develop the defensive capabilities of their assets in the SCS in response. Analysts hold varying conclusions of the incursions with many saying that the US has successfully made a point of observing free navigation and many saying the maneuver had the opposite effect of reinforcing China's claim to sovereignty by acknowledging it and challenging it.
