On December 22, the leaf China Daily quoted Chinese Army Southern War Zone spokesman Dien Quan Ly as blatantly saying that the USS John S. McCain had invaded the waters of Nansha (the illegal Chinese name given to the Vietnamese Spratly Male islands) without Chinese permission. Mr. Tian also said that the Chinese had mobilized units at sea and in the air to warn and drive the US warship out of the area.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the US Seventh Fleet, Joe Keiley, said: “The USS John S. McCain was not expelled from the territorial sea of any country. The USS John S. McCain did this (free shipping) under international law and then continued to conduct normal operations in international waters. “
Keiley said that China’s earlier statement on the destroyer USS John S. McCain is the latest in a long line of actions by the country to distort the lawful maritime activities of the United States, while at the same time reinforcing illegal and excessive maritime claims, that harm Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea.
The destroyer USS John S. McCain of the USA.
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According to Mr. Keiley, China’s behavior runs counter to the United States’ compliance with international law and its vision of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region. He emphasized that the operation of the USS John S. McCain near the Spratly Islands reflects the United States’ commitment to maintaining freedom of navigation and the principle of legal use of the South China Sea, according to STARS AND STRIPES.
The United States Navy did not specify the location of the destroyer USS John S. McCain patrol. Meanwhile, some Twitter sources said that this warship passed through the waters near the rocks Gac Ma and Gaven, two entities in the Spratly archipelago under the sovereignty of Vietnam but illegally occupied by China. and accretion on artificial islands.