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Washington, United States – A US warship sailed through the waters of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, in the latest challenge to Beijing’s broad territorial demands in the region.
The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain “affirmed the rights and freedoms of navigation in the Spratly Islands,” the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement.
“This freedom of navigation operation … defended the rights, freedoms and legal uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan,” he added.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, although parts of it are claimed by Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
The region is believed to have valuable oil and gas deposits.
To further enrage those countries and the United States, Beijing has moved aggressively to build reefs on artificial islands capable of harboring military aircraft.
The move came amid rising tensions between the United States and China over the coronavirus epidemic, in which Washington accused Beijing of hiding and playing down the initial outbreak detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. .
Relations between the two countries have been strained on multiple levels since President Donald Trump took office in 2017. A trade war launched by Trump has angered Beijing, as has his authorization of a $ 1.3 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which China considers a rogue province.
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