So-called freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPs, that the U.S. Navy has been carrying out against China’s extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea, have proved ineffective and even risk escalating tensions, Australian research found. The findings, in the paper “Don’t Shoot the Messenger: Perception & Misperception in the South China Sea,” by Nell Bennett, are part of the Blue Security program, a collaboration between various Australian universities and institutes.
Bennett, a researcher specializing in maritime and naval affairs, looked into the FONOP program between 2016 and 2023 when, in her opinion, the U.S. made the South China Sea a focus and directed its attention towards China’s maritime claims there.