An unnamed Pentagon official said the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, sailed within 22 kilometers (12 nautical miles) of the Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago. The official told VOA on Monday a surveillance plane would likely accompany the destroyer during the mission.
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington urged the United States to "refrain from saying or doing anything provocative and act responsibly in maintaining regional peace and stability."
Beijing launched a massive building project last year to transform the submerged reefs into islands that can support runways and other facilities, and has warned it will not allow any country to violate Spratly's airspace, ignoring competing claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and other Asian nations on the region.
- The U.S. cites international law in maintaining its position that artificial reefs do not entitle a country to a territorial water claim. The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea states that "artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands" and "have no territorial sea of their own."
- The patrol marks the most serious U.S. challenge to China's claim of territorial sovereignty around the islands. The U.S. has patrolled in the South China Sea, but never this close to the Spratly archipelago.
The Navy has conducted similar patrols near artificial territories built up by the Philippines and Vietnam, according to Pentagon officials.
The South China Sea is home to one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, so U.S. interests would be directly affected if China were to enforce control over the sea.
Carla Babb
voanews.com
27/10/15
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Related:
China rejects Philippine, Japanese, US claims on South China Sea issue
China: South China Sea dispute to end win-win for all
China says South China Sea not an issue with US
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