A U.S. Navy warship sailed inside the 12-nautical-mile limit of an artificial island built by China in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea last week to demonstrate the right of freedom of navigation in international waters. The United States is expected to regularly conduct this type of naval operation in the area. China strongly reacted by saying that the U.S. warship "illegally" entered waters near "islands and reefs of China's Nansha (Spratly) Islands" and called the maneuver "extremely irresponsible." Two Chinese warships followed the U.S. destroyer and issued warnings. The U.S. action has heightened tensions between the two countries. Washington and Beijing should exercise self-restraint to prevent an unanticipated incident that could escalate into a military confrontation.

On Tuesday local time, the USS Lassen, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer based in Yokosuka, passed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef — one of seven artificial islands built by China over the past year. It also sailed within 12 nautical miles of reefs claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam in an apparent attempt to signal that the U.S. is serious about upholding the right of freedom of navigation in international waters. The last time that the U.S. forces maneuvered within 12 nautical miles of reefs effectively controlled by China was in 2012. Subi Reef is among the reefs in the area that China has turned into islands using landfill. The U.S. is making it clear that it does not accept China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

In his September summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama conveyed his "significant concerns over land reclamation, construction and the militarization of disputed areas" in the South China Sea. Xi replied that the disputed islands in the area have been Chinese territories "since ancient times" although he said that China had "no intention to militarize" the Spratlys. But China is building runways capable of handling military aircraft to reinforce its effective control over the islands and to boost its influence in the South China Sea. In the 1950s China adopted a U-shaped "nine-dash line" that encircles a large area of the South China Sea and declared that the sea inside the line was its territorial waters, although there is no legal basis for the claim under international law. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country cannot set 12-nautical-mile limits around artificial islands built on reefs that were originally submerged at high tide. All the reefs built up by China fall into this category. China, which says that it abides by the international convention, should realize that it cannot claim territorial waters around them.