Beijing ‘Doesn’t Want a Fight’
Experts debate the latest U.S. naval moves in the South China Sea.
By Zha Daojiong, Feng Zhang, Julian G. Ku
ForeignPolicy.com
Feb. 3, 2016
Excerpt:
Julian G. Ku, Professor of Law, Hofstra University:
China has criticized the recent U.S. Navy operation sailing within what it considers its territorial waters in the South China Sea as needlessly provocative. In China’s view, the U.S. Navy has purposely inflamed tensions in the region in order to stir up opposition to China. While it is true that tensions have risen, and probably will continue to increase, in the South China Sea region over the past few years, the “freedom of navigation” operations (FONOPs) that the United States has conducted cannot fairly be blamed for either creating or increasing these tensions. Why?