Self-defense ships of Japan for 2021 twice passed near the artificial islands and reefs on the Spratley archipelago, which China claims in the South China Sea. This was reported by the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.
Military ships of Japan Navy passed outside the 12-mile area of territorial waters, but within the marine exclusive economic zone in March and August 2021. It is alleged that the passage of ships was carried out in the framework of the “Freedom of Navigation Operation – Fonop” (FREDOM OF NAVIGATION OPERATION – FONOP) as a response to the growth of the Chinese fleet activity near the controversial islands of Senkaku.
South China Sea is an important sea for transporting oil resources and is an important route for the deployment of the US Armed Forces and their allies in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East. Since 2014, the PRC since unilaterally defends its territorial rights, turning the reefs of the islands of Sprati into artificial islands.
Starting from October 2015, US Navy ships patrol the islands created by China to emphasize the position of Washington, according to which artificial islands are located in international waters and cannot be part of the PRC.
PRC considers Fonop in the South China Sea, and in particular the operations that are held with the participation of military courts, as provocative, since China’s authorities argue that freedom of shipping does not apply to military courts in foreign exclusive economic zones and territorial waters.
The Territory of the Islands of Sprati is disputed by six states: Vietnam, China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, Philippines and Brunhel. In the area of the island archipelago there are considerable oil and gas reserves: in the area of the Rid-Bank archipelago, there are about 50 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and over five billion barrels of oil.
On November 19 last year, the US Department of State condemned the actions of China, associated with the firmware of the Philippine Courts of Supplies in the disputed waters of the South China Sea in the Spratley Archipelago.
Previously, South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese authorities took up fishermen’s subsidies to consolidate their presence in the controversial territorial waters around the Spratley archipelago in the South China Sea and send 300 ships every day. The media argued that the Chinese government daily issues fuel subsidies to ships that are engaged in fishing near the controversial islands.