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| USS John S. McCain sailed within six nautical miles of Mischief Reef, an artificial island built by China, which resulted in a protest by the nation.
An angry Beijing warned off a US warship after it sailed near an
artificial island in the disputed South China Sea in the latest operation aimed
at loosening the Asian giant's grip on the strategic waterway.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the actions of the USS John
S. McCain had violated Chinese and international law, "seriously"
impairing the country's sovereignty and security.
"China is strongly dissatisfied with this," Geng said in a
statement, adding that Beijing would lodge an official protest with Washington.
The USS John S. McCain destroyer sailed within six nautical miles of
Mischief Reef, an artificial island built by China on Thursday as part of a
"freedom of navigation" operation, a US official said.
The reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea,
which is the scene of rival claims between China and neighbouring countries.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the US official said a Chinese
frigate sent radio warnings at least 10 times to the USS McCain.
"They called and said 'please turn around, you are in our
waters'," the official said. "We told them we are a US (ship)
conducting routine operations in international waters."
The official said the interactions were all "safe and
professional," with the operation lasting about six hours from start to
finish, but Geng said such operations "seriously endanger lives".
The freedom of navigation operation was the third of its kind carried
out by the United States since President Donald Trump took office in January.
- Overlapping claims -
The US move came four days after the United States, Australia and Japan
denounced Beijing's island-building and militarisation of the South China Sea
on the sidelines of a security forum of the 10-nation Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila.
A security think tank, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI),
released satellite images on its website which it said showed that China was
expanding artificial islands, contradicting Beijing's assurance that it stopped
such activities two years ago.
China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in annual
shipping trade passes and which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas
deposits.
Its sweeping claims overlap with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and
Brunei all ASEAN members as well as Taiwan.
But in recent years Beijing has managed to weaken regional resistance by
courting some ASEAN members.
On Sunday China scored a coup when ASEAN ministers issued a diluted
statement on the dispute and agreed to its terms on talks at the Manila
meeting.
China insists that a much-delayed code of conduct between it and ASEAN
members over the disputed sea must not be legally binding, a demand to which
Southeast Asian countries have so far acquiesced.
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the situation in the
South China Sea has "stabilised" due to the "joint efforts"
of China and neighbouring countries but the US operation threatened "peace
and stability in the region".
"The US military's provocative actions will only encourage the
Chinese military to further strengthen the defence capacity building and firmly
defend national sovereignty and security," Qian said.
The operation also comes amid soaring tensions on the Korean peninsula
over Pyongyang's missile programme, and as the United States seeks to push
China into more assertively restraining North Korea.
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Logan declined to comment on
whether there had been a freedom of navigation sailing but he said the United
States would continue to do such operations.
"All operations are conducted in
accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will
fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," he said.
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