China says it 'drove away' US warship from its waters, US Navy asserts freedom of navigation
Coincidentally, the reported incident comes on the anniversary of an international court ruling that said that China had no claim over the disputed waters.
FollowChina's military on Monday claimed that it had driven away an American warship that had illegally entered the South China Sea.
Coincidentally, the reported incident comes on the anniversary of an international court ruling that said that China had no claim over the disputed waters.Â
According to the southern theatre command of the People's Liberation Army, USS Benfold entered the waters without China's knowledge or approval which not only violates its sovereignty but also undermines the stability of the sea. It also urged the United States to immediately stop "such provocative actions."Â
In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague ruled that China had no historic titles over the South China Sea, the ruling was not acknowledged by China.Â
The US Navy said on Monday that USS Benfold had asserted its freedom of navigation near the Paracel Islands and was within international law.Â
The Islands themselves are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and require permission or advance notification before a military vessel can pass through.Â
The US Navy said, "Under international law, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, the ships of all states, including their warships, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. By engaging in the innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants, the United States challenged these unlawful restrictions imposed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam."Â
It also said that by conducting this operation, the United States had demonstrated that these waters are beyond what China can lawfully claim as its territorial sea and that China's claimed straight baselines around the Paracel Islands are inconsistent with international law.
There are many other islands, reefs and atolls in the resource-abundant sea which are contested by Brunei, China, Malaysia and the Philippines; China claims most of the region.Â
In The Hague ruling in 2016, China was accused of interfering with traditional Philippine fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal and it also breached the country's sovereign rights by searching for oil near the read bank.Â
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the freedom of the seas was an 'enduring' interest for all nations.Â
He said that 'nowhere is the rules-based maritime order under greater threat than in the South China Sea.Â
He further added that the People's Republic of China continues to coerce and intimidate Southeast Asian coastal states, threatening freedom of navigation in this critical global throughway.
