A US Navy warship on Saturday challenged Chinese claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement - the second operation of its kind this week. 9News
Navy warship on Saturday challenged Chinese claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement - the second operation of its kind this week.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed near the Spratly Islands - known as the Nansha Islands in China - in the southeastern South China Sea in a so-called "freedom of navigation operation" , the 7th Fleet statement said.has built military fortifications on man-made islands challenged "restrictions on innocent passage imposed by the People's Republic of China , Vietnam, and Taiwan," the statement said.
"Territorial sea" refers to the waters within 12 nautical miles of a nation's coastline as recognised by international law.The Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also claim sovereignty over parts of the Spratly Islands, but the US Navy statement did not say its warship was challenging any of their claims.
Saturday's operation was the fourth FONOP challenging Chinese claims this year and the second such operation for the Benfold in the past four days, according to Navy statements. On Wednesday, it performed the same mission in the Paracel Islands, a chain in the northern South China Sea known as the Xisha Islands in China, which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
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