China has strongly condemned the United States after an American warship deliberately sailed near one of its islands in the hotly-contested South China Sea to exercise freedom of navigation and challenge Beijing's vast territorial claims. The missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the Paracel chain "to challenge excessive maritime claims of parties that claim the Paracel Islands", without notifying the three claimants beforehand, defence department spokesman Mark Wright said in Washington. China, Taiwan and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the Paracels and require prior notice from ships transiting what they consider their territorial waters. The latest operation was particularly aimed at China, which has increased tensions with the US and its south-east Asian neighbours by embarking on massive construction of man-made islands and airstrips in contested areas. In October, another US warship sailed in the nearby Spratly Islands near Subi Reef, where China has built one of seven artificial islands. Mr Wright said the attempts to restrict navigational rights by requiring prior notice were inconsistent with international law. US...
from timesofmalta.com http://ift.tt/1nwoNLL
via
IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment