The US Navy announced on Monday that one of its ships is conducting an operation in the South China Sea, with Beijing, in military maneuvers around Taiwan, denouncing “the intrusion” of the destroyer.
“This freedom of navigation operation respected the rights, freedoms and legal uses of the sea”the US Navy said in a statement, adding that the USS Milius had passed close to the Spratly Islands.
The ship passed less than 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from Mischief Reef, claimed by China and other countries in the region, the US Navy added.
The missile destroyer USS Milius has illegally entered the waters off Meiji Reef [nome oficial chinês para o recife Mischief] in the Nansha Islands [nome chinês das Spratly] from China without the permission of the Chinese government”said a spokesman for the Chinese Army’s Southern Theater Command, Tian Junli.
China’s air force “tracked and guarded the warship,” it added in a statement.
The passage of this US warship into a disputed territory came as China held military exercises around Taiwan for a third consecutive day, in protest of a visit to the US by the island’s leader Tsai Ing-wen.
China said on Monday it had deployed warplanes carrying “live ammunition” and the aircraft carrier Shandong to carry out “feint attacks” on targets in Taiwan after surrounding the area with dozens of aircraft and warships.
“Multiple groups of H-6K fighters conducted several mock attacks on key targets on the island of Taiwan with live ammunition”the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command reported, specifying that Shandong also “participated in the exercises”.
Beijing claims virtually all of the South China Sea, a strategic trade route rich in energy and fish resources, but Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also have claims.
Source: DN
