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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A US Navy destroyer sailed near the islands claimed by China Sunday in the South China Sea, a US official told Reuters, irritating Beijing.
An aerial view of the uninhabited island of Spratlys in the disputed South China Sea, April 21, 2017. REUTERS / Erik De Castro
Beijing and Washington are wrestling with a trade war that has forced them to impose increasingly stringent tariff regimes on their respective imports.
The official, on condition of anonymity, said the Decatur destroyer had traveled less than 12 nautical miles from the Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands.
The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit the freedom of navigation in strategic waters, where Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian navies operate.
China's claims in the South China Sea, through which about $ 5 trillion in commercial transactions a year are challenged by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
"We are conducting regular and regular freedom of navigation operations, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future," added the US official.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The United States has criticized China's construction of islands and military installations in the region and is concerned that they could be used to restrict free movement.
The US military has a long-standing position that its operations are conducted around the world, including in areas claimed by its allies, and that they are distinct from political considerations.
This latest move comes at a particularly tense moment in relations between the United States and China.
Frictions between the world's two largest economies are now overshadowing trade, with US President Donald Trump accusing Beijing this week of interfering in congressional elections, marking a new stage in an increasingly intense campaign.
China has recently refused a request for a US warship in Hong Kong, and this month Beijing has postponed joint military talks to protest the US decision to impose sanctions on a Chinese military agency and its director. missile system.
In May, two US Navy warships sailed near the islands of the South China Sea claimed by China.
Reportage by Idrees Ali; Ben Blanchard's additional report in Beijing; Editing by David Goodman
