American Intrigue in South China Sea

Shahzad Masood Roomi

The US Navy has been conducting surveillance operations in South China Sea to monitor PLAN's maritime capabilities. These operations came to fore more than a decade ago when, in April 2001, two J-8s of Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) intercepted a US Navy EP-3E ARIES-II Surveillance Spy plane some 110 Kilometers south of Hainan Island in South China Sea. During the interception, a collision occurred between the EP-3 and one of the J-8s causing the death of a PRC pilot, and the EP-3 was forced to make an emergency landing on Hainan.This led to a serious diplomatic deadlock between two global players. China detained 24 member crew of spy plane after the incident who were released later on after the US government issued a statement about the incident. This was beginning of a quiet battle between the two states which still rages in South China Sea. The latest incident in this war took place when on 28th August 2014, China’s military told the United States to end air and naval surveillance near its borders, saying it was damaging relations between the Pacific powers and could lead to “undesirable accidents”.

Now question is, why the US is constantly undertaking such challenging and provocative maritime spy ops so close to the mainland China? Answer lies in the geography of the island and the fact that Hainan is home of PLAN's concealed submarine base; Sanya.  Hainan is located with in China's 200 km Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), it is not located in international waters though Chinese claim their territory far beyond the 200 Km EEZ. Next, the base houses PLAN's nuclear arsenal carried by Type-094 nuclear submarine. This is something that provokes so much reaction from Beijing over any US operation around the island province. Type-094 SSBN (Jin Class) carries JL-2 SLBM. According to the 2012 Annual Report  presented to Congress on ''Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China'' presented by the Office of the American Secretary of Defense, JL-2 has a maximum range of 14,000 kilometers. Due to these reasons, spying on PLAN submarine forces becomes strategic imperative for the US Navy.

PLAN's Type-094 SSBN

JL-2 SLBM would be part of the PLAN nuclear arsenal in coming years

Apart from this, even from a regional perspective, Hainan base is of critical importance for the PLAN as it is located in close proximity the Paracel Islands, known as the Xisha Islands. These reef islands are also a source of contention between China and the US strategic ally in the region, Taiwan. Controlled by PRC, Paracel islands are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. All these factors have turned Hainan and South China Sea in a strategic hotspot in global politics and also explains the American intrigue in South China Sea.

What would be outcome of this American intrigue and maritime surveillance operations is still to be seen but one thing is certain, it would be pleasant if Americans keep on ignoring the Chinese warnings.