US destroyer sails near disputed Paracel Islands

[Boats]

US destroyer sails near disputed Paracel Islands
RE: http://www.janes.com/article/64868/u...aracel-islands

Gabriel Dominguez, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
24 October 2016

The US Navy (USN) launched another freedom-of-navigation operation (FONOP) in disputed areas of the South China Sea (SCS) on 21 October, US officials confirmed.

USS Decatur (DDG 73), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, sailed near Chinese-controlled Triton and Woody Islands in the Paracels. The patrol, which did not cross the 12 n-mile territorial limit of any of the features, was intended to challenge Chinese claims in the disputed waters, an official told the Navy Times newspaper.

USS Decatur, pictured here earlier this year, sailed near Chinese-controlled Triton and Woody Islands in the Paracels on 21 October. (US Navy)
USS Decatur, pictured here earlier this year, sailed near Chinese-controlled Triton and Woody Islands in the Paracels on 21 October. (US Navy)

"USS Decatur (DDG 73) conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident," US Department of Defense spokesman Commander Gary Ross was quoted by the paper as saying.

"The United States conducts these routine operations on a regular basis around the world, in full compliance with international law," he added. The operation was first reported by Reuters news agency.

White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said at a news briefing that same day that the purpose of the mission was to "uphold the rights and freedoms of all states under international law" as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, also known as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

"This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law," said the spokesperson.

China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) condemned the move as "illegal and provocative", adding that two Chinese guided missile destroyers warned the US vessel to leave the area.

"This has proved that the US side is the 'troublemaker' in the stability of the South China Sea," MND spokesman Wu Qian was quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper as saying. "China will work together with other nations in the area to firmly defend peace and stability in the South China Sea region," he added.