Beijing hardly bothers with a legal rationale for seizing a U.S. drone
On Tuesday, China
handed back the craft, a day after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman insisted that the sailors were simply gathering unattended property, as one might “pick something up from the street.”
That explanation beggars belief. China has
crossed a new threshold. It once found it necessary to justify its assertive actions in the South China Sea within a broad framework of legality—however flimsy, contrived or contested its formulation of law appeared to the U.S. and its allies.
.. The finned metal tube was clearly marked. Equally obvious, it was under the control of the nearby USNS Bowditch. If China can grab a submersible drone, why not interfere with the passage of a ship? In these matters, international maritime law does not distinguish between vessel types or sizes.
.. Some Chinese scholars suggest the interception sent a message that China won’t tolerate the increasing use of American drones to snoop on its submarine activity at any distance from its shores.
.. Adm. Harry Harris, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, sent a blunt message to Beijing as he announced deployments of F-22 Raptor jets to Australia last week. “We will cooperate when we can, but we will be ready to confront when we must,” he said.
.. Adm. Harry Harris, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, sent a blunt message to Beijing as he announced deployments of F-22 Raptor jets to Australia last week. “We will cooperate when we can, but we will be ready to confront when we must,” he said.