U.S. Navy Sets the Record Straight on FONOPs

Truong-Minh Vu, Jeremy Lagelee

Security, Asia-Pacific

The operations are becoming a normalized and consensual means of keeping SCS stakeholders in check.

Freedom Of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) have been at the forefront of tensions in the South China Sea (SCS) since the USS Lassen kicked off a long-term campaign by the U.S. Navy on October 26, 2015, at Subi reef in the Spratly Islands. The January 30 FONOP conducted by the USS Curtis Wilbur within twelve miles of Triton Island, one of the Paracel’s features, is the latest iteration of this policy.

The Triton Island operation is consistent with the U.S. interpretation of the right of innocent passage provided for in Article 17 of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). More importantly, it confirms the U.S. objective of building support for its broader interpretation of UNCLOS among SCS claimants. The timing of these operations is important: land reclamation efforts by China have begun a new phase with the entry into operation of several runways. Freedom of navigation operations have now expanded into different formats and participants. The Paracels and the Spratlys, the two most contentious flash points in the SCS disputes, have now been subject to FONOPs.

Mild reactions from Vietnam and Taiwan testify to the shifting forces in the region. Vietnam is a key party to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the free trade agreement between twelve of the major economies in the Pacific Rim. The agreement was released in October and officially signed in Auckland on February 4. The importance of this agreement cannot be understated. By signing a major agreement with the United States, many key countries, including Vietnam, are undergoing a momentous shift in geopolitical leanings. Economic proximity fosters geopolitical proximity.

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