The warship sailed in waters surrounding at least one of the land formations claimed by China in the disputed Spratly Islands chain early on Tuesday local time, a US official told AFP news agency.
US officials told Associated Press on Monday that the White House approved the movement by the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, around the Spratly Islands archipelago, a disputed group of hundreds of reefs, islets, atolls and islands in the South China.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter in advance of the Lassen's movement.
- A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr Bill Urban, declined to comment.
Tensions have mounted since China transformed reefs in the area - also claimed by several neighbouring countries - into small islands capable of supporting military facilities, a move the US says threatens freedom of navigation.
- China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing was trying to verify if the US ship had entered the 12-mile zone.
"If true, we advise the US to think again and before acting, not act blindly or make trouble out of nothing," the Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as saying.
- 'Muscle-flexing'
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said the concept of freedom of navigation should not be used as excuse for muscle-flexing.
Embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan told Reuters that the United States should "refrain from saying or doing anything provocative and act responsibly in maintaining regional peace and stability".
"Freedom of navigation and overflight should not be used as excuse to flex muscle and undermine other countries' sovereignty and security," he said.
Washington has repeatedly said it does not recognise Chinese claims to territorial waters around the artificial islands..............http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/warship-patrol-reefs-claimed-china-151026233643088.html
27/10/15
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Related:
- US Navy destroyer passes disputed China islands...
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Beijing warns against US South China Sea move
- U.S., Australia rebuff China over South China Sea ...
US Asserts Right to South China Sea Presence
Beijing Warns US on S. China Sea Patrols
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Beijing slammed the US for sailing a warship near its artificial islands in the strategically crucial South China Sea Tuesday, saying the move was a "threat to China's sovereignty"...
ReplyDeleteThe USS Lassen "illegally entered" the waters near the islands, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement, "without receiving permission from the Chinese government".
The USS Lassen passed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the land formations Beijing claims in the disputed Spratly Islands, the official told AFP.
Under international law, a state's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its shore. However, the US and others argue that this rule cannot apply to artificial islands.
The move is a significant escalation of the dispute over the strategically vital South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety, even waters close to the coasts of other states...................http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/asia-pacific/90416-151027-us-to-send-warship-close-to-south-china-sea-islets
27/10/15
Un navire de la marine américaine défie Pékin en mer de Chine...
ReplyDeleteLe navire lance-missiles USS Lassen s'est approché, mardi, d'îles artificielles construites par Pékin en mer de Chine méridionale. Une manœuvre américaine visant à répondre aux revendications territoriales chinoises dans ces eaux stratégiques.
Mardi 27 octobre, un navire de guerre américain s'est approché d'îles artificielles que Pékin a construites en mer de Chine méridionale. L'USS Lassen, un navire lance-missiles, a pénétré dans l'espace de 12 miles nautiques entourant les atolls de l'archipel corallien des Spratley. La Chine considère cette zone comme des eaux territoriales, une souveraineté rejetée par les États-Unis.........http://www.france24.com/fr/20151027-etats-unis-chine-navire-marine-pekin-mer-spratleys-uss-lassen-defense-diplomatie
27/10/15
Pékin appelle Washington à éviter les provocations en Mer de Chine...
ReplyDeleteUn navire lance-missiles américain, le USS Lassen, s’est approché, mardi 27 octobre, à moins de 12 milles nautiques d’au moins une des îles artificielles que Pékin construit en mer de Chine méridionale, dans l’archipel des Spratleys.
Après en avoir été informé, le ministère chinois des Affaires étrangères a appelé les Etats-Unis à s’abstenir de commettre "des actions imprudentes" et à "bien réfléchir ".
"Actuellement, nous vérifions l'information, et, si elle est confirmée, nous appelons les Etats-Unis à bien réfléchir à leurs actions subséquentes afin de ne pas provoquer un incident inutile", a déclaré le ministre chinois des Affaires étrangères.
L’ambassade chinoise aux Etats-Unis a plus tôt appelé Washington à éviter toutes paroles ou actions provocatrices afin de maintenir la paix et la stabilité dans la région.........http://sptnkne.ws/XQK
The US Navy did send its destroyer within the 12-mile limit of a disputed island in the South China Sea and it will carry out more operations of the same kind in coming months, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday...
ReplyDeleteAsked to confirm media reports that the US destroyer approached the disputed islands in the South China Sea, the US defense secretary said, “What you read in the newspaper is accurate and I don’t want to say more than that."
“There have been naval ops in that region and – there will be more…We are doing more at sea. We are doing more in the way of presence. We will fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits and wherever our operational needs require,” Carter said at a hearing.................(Sputnik)
27/10/15