US warships sail near South China Sea islands claimed by Beijing, Latest World News - The New Paper
World

US warships sail near South China Sea islands claimed by Beijing

This article is more than 12 months old

Navy says operation near South China Sea islands claimed by China was 'routine'

WASHINGTON Two US Navy warships sailed near South China Sea islands claimed by China yesterday, two US officials said, in a move likely to anger Beijing as President Donald Trump seeks its continued cooperation on North Korea.

The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

While this operation had been planned months in advance, and similar operations have become routine, it comes at a particularly sensitive time and just days after the Pentagon uninvited China from a major US-hosted naval drill.

The US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Higgins guided-missile destroyer and the Antietam, a guided-missile cruiser, came within 12 nautical miles of the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbours.

The US military vessels carried out manoeuvring operations near Tree, Lincoln, Triton and Woody islands in the Paracels, one of the officials said.

Critics of the operations, known as "Freedom of Navigation", have said that they have little impact on Chinese behaviour and are largely symbolic.

The US military has a long-standing position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and that they are separate from political considerations.

Satellite photographs taken on May 12 showed China appeared to have deployed truck-mounted surface-to-air missiles or anti-ship cruise missiles at Woody Island.

Earlier this month, China's air force landed bombers on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training exercise in the region, triggering concern from Vietnam and the Philippines.

The US military did not directly comment on yesterday's operation but said US forces operate in the region on a daily basis.

"We conduct routine and regular Freedom of Navigation Operations, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future," US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

Neither China's foreign nor defence ministries immediately responded to a request for comment. - REUTERS

WORLD