Military Technology 05/2021

waters are beyond what China can lawfully claim as its territorial sea, and that China’s claimed straight baselines around the Paracel Islands are in- consistent with international law.” International Commitment The US is not alone in asserting freedom of navigation. In April, the French Navy MISTRAL-class LHD TONNERRE and the LA FAYETTE-class frigate SURCOUF operated in concert with the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS ANZAC and supply ship HMAS SIRIUS in the South China Sea. The two navies demonstrated their ability to operate together and reaffirmed their commitment to the free movement of ships in the region. The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, escorted by Type 45 destroyers HMS DEFENDER and HMS DIAMOND, plus Type 23 frigates HMS KENT and HMS RICHMOND; Royal Fleet Auxiliaries Tankers RFA TIDESPRING and RFA FORT VICTORIA; along with the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS EVERSTEN and the American guided-missile destroyer USS THE SULLIVANS – is in the region at the time of writing, with F-35B LIGHTNING II aircraft from the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron and US Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 em- barked on the ship. The German Navy’s frigate BAYERN is on its way to the region for a seven-month deployment, where it will also conduct FONOPS to demon- strate that Germany does not accept China’s territorial claims. The US is employing diplomacy as well. In August, senior US officials publicly reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the nations in the re- gion. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Vietnam and Singapore, to talk about the importance of defending international rules in the South China Sea and expanding security cooperation in the region. Harris’ visit to Vietnam followed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Hanoi, focused on the deepening security ties between the two countries. Vietnam has adamantly opposed China’s South China Sea claims. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reinforced the US engagement with Southeast Asia during a series of virtual regional meetings. The US has been operating in the Pacific for decades, Aquilino points out, and will continue to do so in order to maintain the agreed-upon inter- national rules-based order that the US and all pacific nations depend on to ensure prosperity. more than a century. “They routinely operate in close coordination with like-minded allies and partners who share our commitment to uphold a free and open international order that promotes security and prosperity. All of our operations are designed to be conducted professionally and in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows –regardless of the location of excessive maritime claims and regardless of current events.” Furthermore, the Navy statement said, international law does not per- mit continental states, like China, to establish baselines around entire dispersed island groups. “With these baselines, China has attempted to claim more internal waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf than it is entitled to under international law. By conducting this operation, the United States demonstrated that these HMAS ANZAC and SIRIUS in-company with the FS TONNEERE and FS SURCOUF of the French Marine Nationale<, during a transit of the South China Sea as part of the JEANNE d’ARC Task Group. (Photo: Royal Australian Navy/Leading Seaman Sam Greenland) Gunners tracking surface contacts via Mark-38 25mm gun remote operator consoles in the pilot house of the USS JOHN S McCAIN (DDG 56) as the vessel conducts routine underway operations while forward deployed to US 7 th Fleet area of operations. (Photo: USN/MCS 2 nd Markus Castaneda) 66 · MT 5/2021 From the Bridge