TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The U.S. Navy conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea on April 10, as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) asserted navigational rights and freedoms near the Spratly Islands, per international law.
The operation involved the vessel conducting "normal operations" within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, a low-tide elevation in its natural state. The land reclamation efforts, installations, and structures built on Mischief Reef do not grant China territorial sea rights under international law.
Unlawful and excessive maritime claims in the South China Sea seriously threaten the freedom of navigation, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and economic opportunities of South China Sea littoral nations, according to a statement released a day earlier on the Website of the Commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet.
The United States challenges such claims regardless of the claimant's identity, upholding customary international law of the sea as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. The international community has a crucial role in safeguarding the freedom of the seas, which is vital for global security, stability, and prosperity.
The US Navy has operated in the South China Sea for more than a century in coordination with like-minded allies and partners who share the commitment to a free and open international order.
The operations are conducted safely, professionally, and under international law, demonstrating that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows –regardless of the location of excessive maritime claims and current events.