U.S. Warship Sails Close By Man Made Chinese-controlled Island

A United States Navy destroyer sailed close to one of the most crucial Chinese-controlled man-made islands in the South China Sea. The mission was intended to challenge China’s territorial claims and was criticized by Beijing as unlawful.

The USS Milius of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet conducted “normal operations” near Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, where China has developed an airport and other structures. China’s People’s Liberation Army has declared the American warship’s actions unlawful, stating that it did not obtain Chinese approval to navigate in its waters.

“Features like Mischief Reef that are submerged at high tide in their naturally formed state are not entitled to a territorial sea according to customary international law,” declared the 7th Fleet.

The move comes as Beijing is executing more war games throughout Taiwan, and the U.S. frequently conducts freedom of navigation voyages in the strategic region. The last navigation challenge took place in the midst of rising tensions with the two countries.

The 7th Fleet insists that the land reclamation projects, installations, and constructions on Mischief Reef do not alter their characterization under international law.

China claims that it has complete control over the islands in the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade flow year after year. However, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam also claim the region’s entirety or sections of it.

The warship left the “excessive claim area,” according to the 7th Fleet, after the operation concluded and continued operations in the South China Sea.

The same ship was the center of a disagreement between China and the United States last month. China claimed that the ship entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.

(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jamie Freed and Clarence Fernandez)