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 Senator John McCain said in a statement that the lack of U.S.
action was allowing China to continue to "pursue its territorial
ambitions" in the region, most recently by landing a plane on a
man-made island in the Spratly Islands archipelago on Saturday.
McCain said the lack of additional U.S. patrols last year was
"disappointing yet hardly surprising." He said the Obama
administration was "either unable to manage the complexities of
interagency national security decision-making or simply too risk
averse to do what is necessary to safeguard the rules-based order in
the Asia-Pacific."
Analysts say China's increasing military presence in the disputed
sea could ultimately lead to a Beijing-controlled air defense zone,
ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and the United States.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby on Monday said China's
first landing of a plane on an island in the disputed region "raises
tensions and threatens regional stability."
 "We again call for all claimants to halt land reclamation and
further development of new facilities and militarization on their
outposts and instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable
behavior in disputed areas," he told reporters.
U.S. officials remain committed to carrying out further "freedom of
navigation" patrols near the dispute islands, but are still debating
the timing of another patrol, said one U.S. defense official, who
was not authorized to speak publicly.
"The question is do we want to escalate the situation and ratchet it
up?" said the official.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told McCain in a letter dated Dec.
21 that the Navy conducted a previous patrol in October to be
"lawful under all possible scenarios" given ambiguities about
whether certain islands in the region are entitled to a territorial
sea. He said the United States would continue to "fly, sail and
operate wherever international law allows."
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Carter said the Oct. 27 patrol included a continuous transit
consistent with what is known as the "right of innocent passage,"
which applies only in a territorial sea, and with "freedom of
navigation," which applies beyond those limits.
At the time, critics said the destroyer Lassen's decision to conduct
an "innocent passage" by skipping military drills could have
actually reinforced China's claim to sovereignty over the islands.
Such passage can only take place in waters belonging to another
country.
Carter said the patrol was not meant to challenge any claims of
sovereignty, but to challenge attempts by the countries involved to
restrict navigation rights and to require prior notification of
transits.
He said U.S. officials did not notify any of the countries prior to
the transit patrol.
Washington argues that islands China has built up in the South China
Sea are not entitled to a territorial limit under international law
as they used to be underwater at high tide.
China argues that the islands would be used mainly for civilian use,
such as coast guard activity and fishing research.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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