Not Clear on the Concept

The editors of the Wall Street Journal remark on the Obama Administration’s decision to maintain a lower profile in the South China Sea that I noted yesterday:

It didn’t take long for the Obama Administration to muddy the message it sent in October by sending a warship to challenge China’s aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea. At the time U.S. officials promised regular follow-up “freedom of navigation” operations—two every three months, according to leaks to the press, including another this year. Now comes word that the next mission won’t come before January, if then.

Citing three U.S. defense officials, Reuters reports that the Administration is stalling while “weighing the risks of raising tensions with Beijing at a time when the United States is focused on the fight against Islamic State.” There’s always an excuse for indecision.

Ensuring freedom of navigation has been a mission of the U. S. Navy for 200 years. It’s a vital component of the American grand strategy. The Obama Administration’s actions really make me wonder if they’re not clear on the concept.

Turning to more immediate concerns, the People’s Liberation Army Navy will not stand still. They’ve been moving very rapidly to turn the South China Sea into a Chinese lake, very nearly literally by building out geographical features that by nature are only above water at low tide. Our allies with territorial stakes in the South China Sea are probably becoming even more nervous right about now.