The day after navigating the Taiwan Strait, the guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain conducted a freedom of navigation operation near the disputed Paracel Islands while being chased by Chinese warships.
All interactions were safe and professional, officials told Fox News. US forces operate in the South China Sea daily, as they have for more than a century.
This is the first freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea since President Biden took office.
7th Fleet Destroyer Performs Operation of Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea
(Photo by 2nd Class Mass Communication Specialist Markus Castaneda)
“Illegal and comprehensive 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 trade and freedom of economic opportunity for the nations of the southern coast of China,” 7th Fleet Lieutenant Joe Keiley’s voice said in a statement. “The United States defends freedom of navigation as a principle.”
“As long as some countries continue to make maritime claims that are inconsistent with international law, as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and which intends to unlawfully restrict the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all states, the United States will continue to defend them rights and freedoms, “Keiley added.
US WAR THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE PRESIDENCY OF BIDEN
Keiley noted that the Paracel Islands remain a fiercely contested area, with China, Taiwan and Vietnam each claiming sovereignty. All three applicants require permission or notice prior to an “innocent passage” over the sea.
Passing through the area without any prior notification or authorization poses a challenge to the “illegal restrictions” imposed by each country.
7th Fleet Destroyer Performs Operation of Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea
(Photo by 2nd Class Mass Communication Specialist Markus Castaneda)
The journey does not pass without notice. Beijing has long been irritated by the transit of the Taiwan Strait of the US Navy and the freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea.
Chinese warships followed McCain across the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, during a “routine operation” that was carried out “in accordance with international law”. McCain had already passed the Tawain Strait on New Year’s Eve.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that Beijing is closely monitoring the movements of the U.S. Navy amid the warship operation, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
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“China will continue to maintain a high level of alert at all times, will respond to all threats and provocations at all times and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Wenbin. “The United States is expected to have a constructive role in regional peace and stability, not the other way around.”
Bradford Betz of Fox News contributed to this report.