A warship from the United States Navy will dock in Subic, one day after the Pentagon said it will not honor the “security enclosure” that China has imposed above and around the reefs that it was reclaiming in the West Philippine Sea.
A statement from the US Embassy in Manila said USS Shiloh, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, will arrive and moor in Subic this weekend to replenish its supplies, before continuing its patrol of the Pacific waters.
The USS Shiloh (CG-67) is a multirole warship capable of fighting threats in the air, on sea, or ashore. The warship is also capable of employing two SH-60 Seahawk multipurpose helicopters that are primarily for anti-submarine warfare.
The guided missile cruiser is a part of the forward-deployed naval forces of the US 7th Fleet, the Navy’s primary command that is responsible for the overall defense stability of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The arrival of the warship comes as the US and China engaged in a “word war” during the past days over China’s ongoing reclamation in the West Philippine Sea, which the US, the Asean and the Philippines said was whipping up security concerns and stability in the region.
Last week the Chinese navy warned a US Poseidon surveillance plane as the aircraft flew above one of the reefs where Beijing is undertaking reclamation to document the activity, which is being undertaken for Chinese military use.
The Pentagon said it will not honor the military enclosure that China was observing around and above the reefs, a restriction that Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin said was an imposition of an Air Defense Identification Zone (Adiz).
Gazmin said China was imposing the Adiz without a formal declaration.
The US military said it will fly above China’s reclamation projects since they sit below the international airspace, and on shore, US Navy vessels will even move up to 12 miles near all of the projects.
Pentagon said it will not honor the restriction imposed by China and will even challenge it.
The US and other countries have repeatedly issued the need for the South China Sea to be open to overflights and international navigation and have warned against what was seen as China’s effort to shut it down from international use.