Weekly News 31/7 - 5/8
01/08/2018
24/03/2018
A U.S. guided-missile destroyer conducted a freedom of navigation operation past an artificial island controlled by China on Friday, a U.S. defense official confirmed to USNI News.
USS Mustin (DDG-89) came within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, an artificial island in the Spratly Island chain that is home to a major airfield, and conducted maneuvers near the Chinese base. Newswire Reuters first reported the operation on Friday.
“China holds indisputable sovereignty over the islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea,” defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said in a statement via CNN.
“By repeatedly sending military ships into these areas without authorization, the U.S. has seriously harmed Chinese sovereignty and security, violated basic rules of international relations, and harmed regional peace and stability.”
China claimed two People’s Liberation Army Navy frigates warded off the U.S. destroyer.
In a statement that did not acknowledge details of the operation, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said it conducts operations within the bounds of international law.
Read more at USNI News
Click here for updated South China Sea news
The 3rd event in the Ocean Dialogue series focused on recent developments in the South China Sea from a legal perspective and how stakeholders could cooperate to manage disputes in the region.
Vietnam asks China, as a large nation in the region and the world, to perform its responsibility in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, stated Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang on May 8.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asserted the right of the Australian navy to travel the South China Sea, after local media reported three Australian warships were challenged by the Chinese navy earlier this month.
Disclosure comes as Chinese military conducts what U.S. officials describe as its largest military exercise to date in South China Sea.
China and Vietnam vowed on Sunday (Apr 1) to keep the peace in the South China Sea, the resource-rich waterway that has long been a source of tension between Hanoi and its powerhouse communist neighbour.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano hailed a “golden period” in ties with China on Wednesday despite differences over the South China Sea as the countries discussed how they might conduct joint development projects in the disputed waters.
