US destroyer Curtis Wilbur sailed the South China Sea and defended freedom of movement

A United States warship sailed this Thursday through the Paracel Islands, in the South china sea, after crossing the Taiwan Strait, defying the protests of the Chinese regime, which claims these waters as its own against regional claims.

The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Curtis Wilbur, had conducted freedom of navigation operations near the Paracels, claimed by Beijing, Taiwan and Vietnam.

In a statement, they explained: “The illegal and overwhelming maritime claims in the South China Sea represent a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and freedom of economic opportunity for the coastal nations of the South China Sea ”. In addition, they pointed out that the United States was demonstrating through these operations that “these waters are beyond what China can legally claim to be its territorial sea.”

Hours ago Xi Jinping’s regime protested against shipping and claimed to have expelled ship. As they pointed out, the USS Curtis Wilbur entered their territorial waters “illegally” and reported that Chinese forces mobilized to track and monitor the ship and “warned and expelled” it.

In addition, they accused the United States of growing regional security risks and called the naval maneuvers “unprofessional and irresponsible”.

The American response was immediate. The 7th Fleet said the operation “defends the rights, freedoms and legitimate uses of the sea recognized by international law by challenging illegal restrictions on innocent passages.”

“The PLA’s claim about this mission is false. USS Curtis Wilbur has not been ‘kicked out’ from any nation’s territorySaid the statement. “The USS Curtis Wilbur conducted this FONOP (Freedom of Navigation Operation) in accordance with international law and then continued to conduct normal operations in international waters.”

The United States refuses to recognize China’s claim to almost all of the South China Sea and regularly conducts what it calls freedom of navigation operations to assert its right to navigate international waters. Paracels are also claimed by Vietnam.

Second episode in a week

China on Wednesday filed a complaint about Wilbur’s passage through the Taiwan Strait, also calling it a provocation that undermines peace and stability in the region.

Although the strait is in international waters, China claims Taiwan autonomy as its own territory and sees the presence of the US Navy near the island to support its democratically elected independence government.

In addition to building the world’s largest navy and coastguard in number of ships, China has fortified its island holdings in the strategically vital South China Sea and created new island outposts by piling up cement from sand on coral reefs and lining them with tracks and other infrastructure. .

It ignored rival land claims from its smaller neighbors, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as an international arbitration ruling that declared most of China’s claims in the South China Sea invalid.

A China emboldened by the increase in US military operations in the region has raised growing concern about a potential clash or confrontation, intentional or not.

(With AP information)

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