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On Thursday, a US Navy-guided missile destroyer questioned Chinese claims of sovereignty in and around South China Sea islands, saying such claims violate international law and “represent a major danger to the freedom of the seas.”
The USS Benfold traveled around the Paracel Islands, known as the Xisha Islands in China, in what the Navy refers to as a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP), according to Lt. Mark Langford, a spokeswoman for the US 7th Fleet.
The Paracels are a group of 130 tiny coral islands and reefs in the South China Sea’s northwest corner. According to the CIA Factbook, they have no indigenous population at all, just 1,400 Chinese military garrisons.
Vietnam and self-ruled Taiwan have also claimed the islands, although they have been in Chinese hands for more than 46 years. People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military posts have reinforced the islands.
According to the US Navy statement, Benfold also questioned Vietnam and Taiwan’s claims.
“Before a military vessel participates in ‘innocent passage in the territorial waters, all three claimants must either consent or previous notification. Under international law, all ships, including warships, have the right of innocent passage across the territorial sea. It is illegal to impose any permit or advance-notification requirement for innocent passage unilaterally “According to a statement issued by the US Navy.
Asserting freedom of navigation rights entails sailing within the 12-mile territorial boundary recognized by international law from a nation’s coastline.
China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea.
Langford said Thursday’s FONOP was the second this year against Chinese claims in the South China Sea (the USS Benfold also cruised near the Spratly Islands on Tuesday), but he emphasized that it was part of a long-standing US military practice.
“US troops operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis, as they have for more than a century,” according to a statement issued by the US Navy.
