Update | US Navy carries out patrol in disputed part of South China Sea after PLA wraps up combat drills in the area
The latest US ‘freedom of navigation exercise’ close to Chinese-controlled Fiery Cross Reef, amid increasing tensions over territorial claims in region
A US navy warship carried out a freedom of navigation operation near a disputed reef in the South China Sea on Tuesday, the US Department of Defence said, after the Chinese military wrapped up a military drill in the area.
The operation by the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, travelling within 12 nautical miles of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands, was to “challenge excessive maritime claims of some claimants in the South China Sea”, a US defence department spokesman said.
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the US move would “do no good”, and China would step up patrols in the sea.
“China will strengthen its defence capability, and is determined to protect national territorial sovereignty and security,” he said, adding that the PLA scrambled two fighter jets, an early-warning aircraft, a destroyer and two frigates to patrol the water and warn the US warship to leave.
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It was the latest in a series of similar patrols in the disputed waters in recent months carried out by the US military. Several nations claim parts of the sea and tensions have increased since China began an extensive programme of reclamation on islands it controls in the region.