BEIJING –
The US Navy on Wednesday sailed a destroyer near Chinese-controlled islands in the South China Sea in what Washington said was a patrol aimed at asserting freedom of navigation through the strategic sea lane.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold passed the Paracel Islands and then continued operations in the South China Sea.
The operation “protected the rights, freedoms and lawful use of the sea,” a 7th Fleet press release said.
Such operations are seen as key to maintaining the US Navy’s presence in the Indo-Pacific, where China has expanded its presence through a massive shipbuilding campaign.
Beijing has also alarmed the US, Australia and New Zealand by signing a mutual defense agreement with the Solomon Islands under which it can host Chinese troops in emergencies and possibly establish a permanent Chinese military presence.
In response to the Benfold’s passage, China’s Southern Theater Command tracked the ship’s movements and ordered it to leave the area, Air Force Col. Tian Junli was quoted as saying on the Defense Ministry’s website.
“Our troops in the military zone are on high alert at all times to protect national sovereignty, security and peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the ministry said.
China claims ownership of almost the entire strategic waterway, through which about $5 trillion in global trade passes each year and which holds extremely valuable fish stocks and underwater mineral resources. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have competing claims to the region.
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is also deployed to the South China Sea, along with its strike group, which includes the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam and the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins.
“Our presence in the South China Sea demonstrates America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Capt. Fred Goldhammer, Ronald Reagan’s commanding officer, was quoted as saying in a news release.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated on Wednesday China’s rejection of a 2016 Hague arbitration ruling made by the Philippines under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that invalidated Beijing’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.
“China neither accepts nor recognizes (the ruling). China will never accept any claims or actions based on this award,” Wang told a daily briefing.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on China to abide by the ruling and warned that Washington had a duty to defend treaty ally the Philippines if its forces, ships or aircraft were attacked in the disputed waters.
While publicly seeking closer ties with the Philippine government, China has moved aggressively to assert its control in disputed waters with its vastly superior coast guard and naval assets.
Dozens of left-wing activists and workers protested outside the Chinese consulate in Manila’s Makati financial district on Tuesday, demanding that Beijing respect the arbitration award and that President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. protect the country’s territory and sovereign rights in the South China Sea.
Washington does not claim the disputed waters, but has deployed Navy ships and Air Force aircraft to patrol the waterway for decades and says freedom of navigation and overflight is in the US national interest. China responded angrily, accusing the US of meddling in a purely Asian dispute and demanding it leave the region, where it has had a naval presence for more than a century.
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