Undaunted

THE USS Ronald Reagan, described as one of the most lethal “supercarriers” in the world, is on its way to Japan to be the US Navy’s deployed aircraft carrier in the Seventh Fleet.
Carrying at least 65 aircrafts and around 5,000 highly trained US Navy and Air Force personnel, the USS Reagan represents the command power of the United States. Part of the Seventh Fleet’s area of responsibility includes the Western Pacific Region, which covers the heavily contested West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.
Rear Admiral Patrick Piercey, Commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, clarified that the deployment of the USS Reagan is not out to create tension in the disputed waters, where nations such as Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping claims against China. Piercey stressed that the US carrier will be deployed as part of the “US policies and commitment to the region.” Friction has grown over China’s continuous reclamation on the oil- and gas-rich waters of Spratly Islands.
Despite interventions, China remains adamant in flexing its muscle over the contested areas. The Chinese government recently filed a diplomatic complaint against the US for provocative behavior after an American spy plane flew over parts of the South China Sea. Washington has called the flight “entirely appropriate,” but Beijing has said it endangered the security of its islands and reefs.
Still bent on wresting sovereignty away from other claimants, China recently announced the construction of two lighthouses that will be built on Cuarteron (Calderon) and Johnson South (Mabini) Reefs. Both are located within 200 mille Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, according to Time.com, “If China continues on its present course—and the international community doesn’t back down—military confrontation seems likely.”
“China is building a long airstrip and has deployed an early-warning radar on the Spratly’s Fiery Cross Reef. That will give the Chinese improved detection of what it claims are intruders into its national airspace,” Mark Thompson wrote on Time.com.
“The early-warning radar, US officials believe, is only the first step in China’s quest to control one of the world’s most vital waterways. More than $5 trillion in goods passes through the South China Sea every year. It contains rich fishing grounds, and potentially great reserves of oil and other natural resources,” Thompson added.
Not backing down to China’s aggressive stance, President Benigno Aquino III said that the Philippines has freedom of aviation over the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea.
“We will still fly the routes that we fly based on international law and the various conventions, agreements that have been entered into through various decades,” Aquino said.
He also said that the country will continue to exercise its rights over its exclusive economic zone.
With neither party willing to budge, experts believe that the brewing tension in the West Philippine/South China Sea is like a ticking time bomb, that will inevitably result in dire military coercion.
But if parties involved are sure of the legitimacy of their claims, and for the sake of peace and stability in the region, resolving the dispute in a pragmatic manner and within the framework of international laws, should still be the only solution to the problem. 
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek May 27- June 3, 2015 Sec. A pg.6)