A US destroyer sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Wednesday, prompting an angry response from Beijing.
The United States regularly conducts what it calls Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea, opposing harmless transit restrictions imposed by China and other rights holders.
Monday marks the sixth anniversary of an international court ruling nullifying China’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea, a channel for nearly $3 trillion of maritime trade each year.
China never accepted the decision.
The US Navy said the destroyer USS Benfold “claimed the rights and freedoms of navigation near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea in accordance with international law”.
China has accused the United States of deliberately fomenting tensions, saying it has not hindered freedom of navigation or overflight.
The People’s Liberation Army Southern Command said the US ship’s actions seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security by illegally entering Chinese territorial waters around Paracel, which Vietnam and Taiwan also claim.
source: Noticias
[author_name]
