US carries out Freedom of Navigation exercise in South China Sea
US Navy
A US Navy destroyer ship carried out what US calls Freedom of Navigation exercise in the South China Sea on Wednesday. An angry China said that its military had 'driven away' the US warship which had sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands. China claims the entirety of South China Sea based on ancient claims. US regularly carries out Freedom of Navigation exercises in the sea to challenge Chinese assertions.
Monday (July 11) was the sixth anniversary of a ruling given by international tribunal that had invalidated China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea. China had rejected the ruling.
The US Navy said the destroyer USS Benfold "asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law".
China maintains that it does not impede freedom of navigation. It has accused the US of provoking tensions deliberately.
Southern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said that action of US destroyer seriously violated China's sovereignty and security. It said that the ship illegally entered China's territorial waters around Paracel islands. These islands are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
"The PLA's Southern Theatre Command organised sea and air forces to follow, monitor, warn and drive away" the ship, it added, showing pictures of the Benfold taken from the deck of the Chinese frigate the Xianning.
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"The facts once again show that the United States is nothing short of a 'security risk maker in the South China Sea' and a 'destroyer of regional peace and stability.'"
Watch | China and Pakistan commence maritime exercise near Shanghai to deepen 'frienship'
US Navy, in turn, has said that Chinese statement on its mission was "false". It said that this was latest Chinese act to "misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime operations and assert its excessive and illegitimate maritime claims at the expense of its Southeastern Asian neighbours in the South China Sea".
(With inputs from agencies)
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