Kentaro Nakajima / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent WASHINGTON--The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved a resolution that sends a warning signal to China over the country’s provocative actions in Asian waters, including those off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
The committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution aimed at “reaffirming the strong support of the United States for the peaceful resolutions of territorial, sovereignty and jurisdictional disputes in the Asia-Pacific maritime domains.” The resolution was then referred to a plenary session of the Senate, and was expected to be approved at the session.
The resolution was submitted by both Democratic and Republican senators. It cited an incident in January in which a Chinese naval ship allegedly locked its weapons-targeting radar on Japanese vessels near the Senkaku Islands.
It also referred to the nation’s continuous aggressive maneuvers around the islands.
Although it did not directly name China, the Senate said it “condemns the use of coercion, threats, or force by naval, maritime security, or fishing vessels and military or civilian aircraft in the South China Sea and the East China Sea to assert disputed maritime or territorial claims or alter the status quo.”
The Obama administration has strongly opposed China’s claims, which could lead to a unilateral change of the status quo regarding the Senkaku Islands.
The resolution aims to clarify the Senate’s concerns about China’s provocations in step with the government.
Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., issued a statement saying: “These disputes have reached alarming levels in recent months. We need to make clear that attempts to use coercion or force to change the status quo are unacceptable.”
The committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution aimed at “reaffirming the strong support of the United States for the peaceful resolutions of territorial, sovereignty and jurisdictional disputes in the Asia-Pacific maritime domains.” The resolution was then referred to a plenary session of the Senate, and was expected to be approved at the session.
The resolution was submitted by both Democratic and Republican senators. It cited an incident in January in which a Chinese naval ship allegedly locked its weapons-targeting radar on Japanese vessels near the Senkaku Islands.
It also referred to the nation’s continuous aggressive maneuvers around the islands.
Although it did not directly name China, the Senate said it “condemns the use of coercion, threats, or force by naval, maritime security, or fishing vessels and military or civilian aircraft in the South China Sea and the East China Sea to assert disputed maritime or territorial claims or alter the status quo.”
The Obama administration has strongly opposed China’s claims, which could lead to a unilateral change of the status quo regarding the Senkaku Islands.
The resolution aims to clarify the Senate’s concerns about China’s provocations in step with the government.
Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., issued a statement saying: “These disputes have reached alarming levels in recent months. We need to make clear that attempts to use coercion or force to change the status quo are unacceptable.”
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