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US conducts latest South China Sea sail-by amid trade talks
WASHINGTON, Jan 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A US Navy guided-missile destroyer on
Monday sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea where Beijing has
built military installations, as trade talks between the two countries kicked
off.
The US and its allies periodically send planes and warships through the
area, which is claimed by China, to signal to Beijing their right under
international law to pass through the waters.
The USS McCampbell sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) of the
Paracel Islands “to challenge excessive maritime claims,” US Pacific Fleet
spokeswoman Rachel McMarr told AFP.
She added that so-called “freedom of navigation” operations are “not about
any one country, nor are they about making political statements.”
The sail-by came as Chinese and US officials kicked off talks in Beijing to
find a solution to a bitter trade war that last year saw the two sides impose
tariffs on more than $300 billion in total two-way trade.
“All operations… demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and
operate wherever international law allows. That is true in the South China
Sea as in other places around the globe,” McMarr said.
The Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Beijing asserts nearly all of the South China Sea as its territory, while
Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1440 hrs