Unlike the island-hopping campaigns in World War II, more nuanced conflicts will occur in the South China Sea, no different than recent cyber-attacks especially if the processes of the
Law of the Sea Convention remain problematic. If the seas aren't open, reliable, and safe, how could
the Internet have international rules, when piracy abounds in both.
TALLINN (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency chief called on Wednesday for an "open, reliable and safe" Internet governed by international rules akin to the Law of the Sea, while deflecting critics who say NSA spying has undermined public trust in the cyberworld.
Fox News U.S. surveillance images show China has positioned weaponry on at least one of the artificial islands it is developing in the South China Sea, officials say, apparently confirming suspicions that Beijing has been building up the area for military use.
A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News on Friday that China has put artillery pieces on its man-made islands.
The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, first reported that images taken about a month ago showed two Chinese motorized artillery pieces on one of the artificial reefs. Although the weaponry would not pose a threat to U.S. planes or ships, it could potentially reach neighboring islands, the officials told the paper.
“There is no military threat,” one official told the Journal. “But it is about symbolism.”
The Journal reported that in recent weeks the artillery has disappeared from view, though it was not clear how of why. U.S. officials said they believed the equipment had either been removed or purposely obscured by the Chinese.
The American officials said that the artillery, is within striking range of an island claimed by Vietnam, which that country's government has armed with various weaponry for some time.
Ash Carter's comments were some of the toughest on China's island-building strategy that have come from a senior US official.
The key question is what the US can actually do about it beyond words.
Recent over-flights by US maritime patrol aircraft of some of the new islands have been met by terse radio traffic with the Chinese demanding they leave the area. The fear is that this kind of activity might lead to some kind of incident in the air or at sea that may only further inflame tensions between Washington and Beijing.
China takes the view that it is doing nothing wrong - and certainly nothing that other countries are not also doing.
However, it is clearly the pace and scale of what China is doing that worries many.
And with the precedent of China's self-declared air defence identification zone in the East China Sea, there are fears that such an approach to monitoring or potentially even ultimately limiting freedom of movement could be extended into the South China Sea as well.