What maritime policy Donald Trump's pick for US Navy Secretary Philip Bilden would follow remains unclear, but since the 45th US president officially took his seat in the Oval Office, the South China Sea issue has already been put on the table by his administration.
Bilden, formerly a Hong Kong-based venture capitalist with ten years of military intelligence experience, and touted as having broad knowledge of China and the Asia Pacific region, will no doubt have an important role to play in US-China relations in the next few years.
Among the three nominated secretaries for the Army, Air Force and Navy by Trump, Bilden was the last to be announced. In fact, his name was only mentioned in connection with the navy post just last week. Trump's three nominations will have to be confirmed by the US Senate. Trump said Bilden will complete the task of rebuilding an “unparalleled navy,” by applying his "terrific judgement and top-notch management skills."
The new president has vowed to increase the number of American warships to 350 from 272 at present, with the aim of making the navy stronger while creating more jobs in the ship building industry.
“Our number of ships is at the lowest point that it has been in decades,” Trump said in a statement, adding that Bilden is the right choice to help expand and modernize the fleets and “ensure America’s naval supremacy for decades to come.”“He is an expert on Asia and understands, in particular, China very deeply,” the US Naval Institute (USNI) quoted retired Adm. James G. Stavridis, former NATO supreme commander, as saying. According to Stavridis, Bilden is a man who possesses extraordinary expertise on maritime and nautical affairs.
Bilden said he would ensure the navy has the resources they need to defend US interests globally and support American allies. He has 10 years of experience in the US Army Reserve's Defense Intelligence Agency, following which he worked as a venture capitalist in Hong Kong.
What naval policy Bilden would hold remains unclear, but the South China Sea issue has already dominated headlines, after the comments made by White House spokesman Sean Spicer earlier this week.Spicer said on Monday that his country will defend “international territories” from being taken over by one country, referring to the islands in the South China Sea, as he swore that the US would protect what it deems to be its interests in the region.
Spicer’s remarks prompted a strong response from the Chinese foreign ministry, with spokesperson Hua Chunying at a daily media briefing warning the US to be prudent in words and actions to avoid stirring up the waters in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Lu Kang, another foreign ministry spokesperson, made it clear in an interview with NBC that "they are not international territories, they are Chinese territories."However, Spicer’s words were moderate, compared to the comments made by new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who pledged to stop China’s artificial island-building and even block the Chinese access to those islands in the South China Sea.
China has vowed to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, but the country is also committed to peacefully solving disputes with countries directly concerned though dialogue. However, the Chinese foreign ministry has on many occasions underscored that the US is not a party to disputes in the region.
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