US disregards Beijing's nonsense, says it can take down South China Sea islands
- The US warned Beijing on Thursday that it could take out its islands in the South China Sea as military tensions in the important waterway heat up.
- China has flatly denied any militarization of its artificial South China Sea islands, even as it deploys missiles and lands nuclear bombers there.
- Increasingly, China is bullying its neighbors and taking small acts of military force against US allies.
- The US has already said it won't stand for the Chinese Communist Party's double speak, and has a legal case for using military force to protect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
The US issued a stark warning to Beijing on Thursday, as Chinese militarization of the South China Sea creates a potential flashpoint in a longstanding battle for control of the Pacific.
For years, Beijing has dredged the South China Sea to build artificial islands in waters it claims are its own territory.
Six of China's neighbors also lay claim to patches of the South China Sea. The body of water is home to natural resources, and trillions of dollars worth of trade passes through every year.
In 2016, an international court ruled that China's claims to the precious waterway were illegal, but Beijing made a show of ignoring that ruling.
In 2018, it upped the ante by breaking a previous promise not to militarize the islands with missile deployments and landing nuclear-capable bombers on the islands.
On Thursday, the US reminded China of a "historical fact." Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, director of the Joint Staff said "the United States military has had a lot of experience in the Western Pacific, taking down small islands."
"We have a lot of experience, in the Second World War, taking down small islands that are isolated. So that's a - that's a core competency of the US military that we've done before. You shouldn't read anything more into that than a simple statement of historical fact," said McKenzie.
"Orwellian nonsense"
The US has been the main challenger to China's maritime claims, and in doing so provoked the bulk of Beijing's rage, which is often expressed in a kind of doublespeak common for the Chinese Communist Party.
On Thursday China's foreign ministry called US claims that Beijing is militarizing the islands "ridiculous" and compared them to "a case of a thief crying 'stop thief' to cover their misdeeds."
But on the same day Chinese state media detailed plans to prepare a military response to US interference.
The Global Times, a newspaper controlled by the Communist Party, wrote: "Aside from deploying defensive weapons on the Spratly Islands, China should build a powerful deterrence system, including an aerial base and a roving naval force and base."
"How can anyone argue with a straight face? How can anyone say this is not militarization. It's a patent lie," Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told Business Insider. She said the ranges and functions of missiles China placed on the islands points to a clear military utility.
The White House has addressed this kind of speak from China's Communist party before, calling it "Orwellian nonsense."
War is here, if you want it
Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea isn't just a potential threat to the region. Beijing is already using hard power to force out other countries and assert its dominance.
Most recently, on May 11 a Philippine navy ship was harassed by two Chinese vessels while trying to resupply Filipino marines in the disputed waters. A helicopter reportedly got dangerously close to the small, rubber Filipino ship and chased it off.
"If the Chinese start blocking supply operations," the Filipino marines "could starve," said Glaser.
The Philippines are a long-time US ally. The US has massive military bases there and a duty to protect it.
Glaser said this is the first time the actual Chinese navy had announced involving itself in a patrol of the waters, marking an escalation of conflicts.
"Just the other night, [Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte] said if my troops are hurt there, that could be my red line," Duterte's national security adviser said of the South China Sea.
It's unclear whether Duterte would enforce his red line, but the legal case and practical need for military conflict in the South China Sea is there.
The US reminding China that it can destroy its islands there could be a sign of things to come as the Chinese Communist Party increasingly tries to flex its muscles against freedom of navigation.