A US warship arrived on Saturday in a part of the South China Sea that China considers its own, but which China, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim, the US 7th Fleet command said, adding that the operation was carried out in the context of recent freedom of navigation.
The destroyer Hooper was near the Hsiasa (Paracel) Islands.
According to the fleet’s statement, the operation was aimed at drawing attention to free maritime traffic permitted in the region under international law, which China, according to the command, is trying to restrict.
The leadership insists that ships of any country, including warships of the US Navy, have the right to free passage in the area. According to them, linking traffic to a permit is against international law.
Everyone thinks differently about the area
The Chinese military also reacted to the entry: calling the destroyer’s “incursion into Chinese waters” illegal.
The American warship arrived in the region not for the first time, and the Seventh Fleet had previously confirmed that it was conducting “routine operations in the region,” stressing that Washington “still reserves the right to be present by air and sea.” Where required by international law, “allowed”.
China claims sovereignty over the entire area of the South China Sea, which amounts to approximately 3.5 million square kilometers, which is rich in raw materials. It has also established several islands built for military purposes in the disputed area. However, parts of the sea, which is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. China supports its own claim by the fact that before 1930 no one disputed its sovereignty over the region, MTI reports.
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