South China Sea: US challenges China’s claims with Spratly mission
- US Navy destroyer sails near disputed islands in freedom of navigation operation
- Passage is the latest in a series of activities by the American military in the region
The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the USS Russell “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law”.
“This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law by challenging unlawful restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan,” it said.
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the sea, including freedom of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations.”
China claims sovereignty over the entire archipelago, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have lodged competing claims for some or all of the islands.
Beijing’s extensive territorial claims in the resource-rich waters have become a hot-button issue in its testy relationship with the United States. The two countries are at odds over trade, the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong, Taiwan and accusations of human rights abuses against Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang.