One day after sailing through the Strait of Taiwan, the USS John S. McCain, the guided missile destroyer, exercised a freedom of navigation near the disputed Paracel Islands while being overshadowed by Chinese warships.
All of the interactions were safe and professional, officials told Fox News. American troops operate daily in the South China Sea, as they have done for over a century.
This is the first freedom of navigation in the South China Sea since President Biden took office.
7th Fleet Destroyer Executes Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea
(Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Markus Castaneda, 2nd Class)
“Illegal and widespread maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to maritime freedom, including freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unrestricted trade, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China’s coastal countries,” he said. the 7th Navy spokesman said. Lieutenant Joe Keiley said in a statement. “The United States upholds the freedom of navigation as a principle.”
“As long as some countries continue to assert maritime claims that are contrary to international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and that purport to illegally restrict the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all states, the United States will remain those. defend rights and freedoms, ”Keiley added.
US WORSHIP CROSSS TAIWAN STREET FOR PRAYER FOR PRAYER PRAYER
Keiley noted that the Paracel Islands remain a strictly controversial area, with China, Taiwan and Vietnam each claiming sovereignty. All three plaintiffs need permission or prior notice before an “innocent passage” through the sea.
Going through the area without prior notice or permission is a challenge to the “illegal restrictions” imposed by each country.
7th Fleet Destroyer Executes Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea
(Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Markus Castaneda, 2nd Class)
However, the journey does not proceed without notice. Beijing has long been irritated by the U.S. Navy’s Transit Sea Strait and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Chinese warships tossed McCain through the Straits of Taiwan on Thursday during a “routine operation” conducted “in accordance with international law.” The McCain had previously pulled through Tawain Street on New Year’s Eve.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that Beijing was closely monitoring the movements of the US Navy amid the warship, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
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“China will continue to maintain a high level of vigilance, responding to all threats and provocations at all times and resolutely defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Wenbin said. “It is hoped that the United States will play a constructive role in local peace and stability, not the other way around.”
Foxford’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.