Freedom of navigation on the high seas is a long-established principle of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, for the United States, which is not a signatory to the UNCLOS, it is merely an excuse to exercise its hegemony.

In 1979, the US introduced the so-called Freedom of Navigation Program, the goal of which is to challenge other countries' "excessive maritime claims" unilaterally identified by the US. Although the program also includes diplomatic actions, its central feature is the use of armed forces, such as warships or aircraft, to directly challenge other countries' claims at sea.

The US released its first annual report on its Freedom of Navigation Program in 1991. Since then, it has issued 30 such reports. According to the reports, it has conducted more than 600"freedom of navigation operations" against more than 60 countries, mainly developing countries, such as Iran, Cambodia, China and Myanmar.

As an international legal instrument regulating maritime areas and maritime activities, the UNCLOS matches the interests of states in freedom of navigation with the sovereignty and jurisdiction of coastal states. On the basis of respecting the sovereignty and jurisdiction of coastal states, it has designed navigation regimes in different waters to achieve a delicate balance between the rights and interests of states.

The US' Freedom of Navigation Program not only runs counter to the relevant provisions of the UNCLOS, but also violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. It is a blatant "double standard" in the face of international law.

Even on the high seas, the parties exercising freedom of navigation should abide by the rules to ensure they are not causing trouble to countries nearby, according to the UNCLOS. However, as the US' Freedom of Navigation Program indicates, what it seeks is "absolute freedom" without any restrictions. The US' practices are nothing but a hegemonic act that puts the US' "family rules" above the universally recognized international law of the sea.

In essence, the US actions under the program represent its attempts to challenge the international law of the sea regime established by the UNCLOS. By doing so, it also seeks to impose its own will on the 169 parties to the Convention.

This once again exposes the habitual trick of the US, which is to tamper with international rules through its own standards and self-interpretation of international laws, aiming to maintain its hegemonic status in the sea.

All peace-loving countries have a common interest in maintaining the order of the international law of the sea, and they should unite to oppose the so-called freedom of navigation program of the US.

- CHINA.COM.CN