The sailing of a U.S. warship within 12 miles of one of China's new artificial islands in the South China Sea represents the most daring American military intervention in years. Not since President Bill Clinton sent a naval group through the Taiwan Strait in 1996 as a supportive gesture to the then-beleaguered Taiwanese has the United States so boldly defied China's unlawful territorial claims.
As a symbolic gesture, the move is welcome. But it is not enough. If China's interpretations of international law — which invariably serve its expansionist ambitions — are truly to be countered, challenges of its territorial claims will need to be repeated regularly and coordinated with others.
China's response to the intervention was to feign outrage, describing it as an illegal intrusion into its sovereign waters and a sign of American hypocrisy; the U.S. cares when China builds artificial islands in the South China Sea, the Chinese argue, but not when Vietnam or the Philippines do the same. But neither argument holds water, as the Chinese know perfectly well.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.