Beijing- The US Navy reported that on Monday during a “freedom of navigation” exercise, its guided-missile destroyer, the USS Milius, passed through South China Sea territorial seas that Beijing claims.
According to a statement from the Navy, the action “upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea.”
According to international law, the destroyer had “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands,” it continued.
The Milius “exited the excessive claim area and continued operations in the South China Sea” after the operation, it was reported.
The ship approached Mischief Reef within 12 nautical miles, or around 1,400 kilometres (860 miles) from the southernmost point of Taiwan’s mainland, the statement said.
China has denounced the US warship’s “illegal” entry.
According to a statement released by the Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command, the missile destroyer USS Milius “illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to the Meiji Reef in China’s Nansha Islands without the approval of the Chinese government.” Beijing’s air force also “followed and carried out surveillance of the vessel.”
Chinese fighter jets and warships are 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) away conducting three days of military exercises surrounding Taiwan, including mock attacks on the island.
After meeting last week outside of Los Angeles, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held the war exercises.
Washington said it was “closely monitoring Beijing’s actions” and called for restraint in response to the exercises, which were denounced by Taipei.
Beijing said on Monday that fighter jets equipped with “live ammunition” had carried out “simulated strikes” close to Taiwan and that the Shandong aircraft carrier was taking part in the ongoing drills.
Huge swaths of the area that cross exclusive economic zones of several nations, including the Philippines, are claimed by China. Every year, the waterway handles trade worth trillions of dollars.
