All articles tagged with #freedom of navigation
China's military claimed to have driven away a US destroyer near Scarborough Shoal, while the US Navy asserted its operation was lawful and aimed at maintaining freedom of navigation. The incident follows recent Chinese vessel activities and a collision involving Chinese ships, amid ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has announced the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational security initiative aimed at addressing the recent escalation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The operation brings together countries such as the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain to ensure freedom of navigation, bolster regional security, and protect international trade in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The first cargo ship has successfully departed Ukraine using a new Black Sea corridor for civilian vessels, despite warnings from Russia that its navy could target such vessels. The Hong Kong-flagged vessel, Joseph Schulte, had been trapped at Odesa's port since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is carrying over 2,100 containers with about 30,000 metric tons of cargo and is initially heading for Istanbul. Russia had warned of sinking civilian vessels traveling to and from Ukraine after withdrawing from a grain export deal via the Black Sea.
The US Navy has released a video showing a Chinese navy ship conducting an "unsafe" maneuver in the Taiwan Strait, forcing the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon to slow down to avoid a collision. The incident occurred during a "freedom of navigation" transit of the strait between Taiwan and mainland China. China claims Taiwan as part of its own territory and maintains the strait is part of its exclusive economic zone, while the US and its allies regularly sail through and fly over the passage to emphasize their contention that the waters are international.
The US Navy has released a video of a Chinese warship crossing in front of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, calling it an "unsafe interaction" and raising concerns of future face-offs. The incident comes amid deteriorating Sino-US ties and disagreements over trade, Taiwan, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China's military rebuked the US and Canada for "deliberately provoking risk" with the rare joint sailing. Taiwan's defence ministry called China's actions "provocation" and called on China to respect the right to freedom of navigation.
The US and China traded barbs at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calling out China for refusing to engage in military dialogue, and China's Defense Minister Li Shangfu accusing the US of lacking sincerity. The war of words occurred as a China warship came within 150 yards of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, which separates China and Taiwan. The incident underscored the potential for conflict as relations between the two global powers stay strained.
China's Defense Minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, calling such "freedom of navigation" patrols a provocation to China. The US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, had earlier stated that Washington would not "flinch in the face of bullying or coercion" from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims.
China's defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, accusing the US of provoking Beijing with "freedom of navigation" patrols. Li suggested the US and its allies had created the danger and should instead focus on taking "good care of your own territorial airspace and waters." US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum that Washington would not "flinch in the face of bullying or coercion" from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims.
China's Defense Minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, accusing the US of provocation. He said that China doesn't have any problems with "innocent passage" but that "we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation." The US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, told the same forum that Washington would not "flinch in the face of bullying or coercion" from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims.
China's defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, accusing the US of provoking Beijing with "freedom of navigation" patrols. The US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, countered that Washington would not "flinch in the face of bullying or coercion" from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called on member countries to deploy warships to patrol the Taiwan Strait to deter Beijing's military aggression and signify Europe's commitment to freedom of navigation in the area. Borrell will chair a meeting of the EU's 27 foreign ministers on Monday, where EU-China relations will be discussed. France, the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK are the only European countries capable of patrol missions in the west Pacific. It is rare for European warships to transit through the Taiwan Strait, unlike American military vessels.
The US Navy's guided-missile destroyer, USS Milius, sailed near a Chinese manmade island in the South China Sea, prompting accusations from Beijing that the ship "illegally trespassed" in the area. The US Navy said the operation was a "freedom of navigation" exercise, demonstrating that vessels can lawfully exercise high-seas freedoms in those areas. China has built and militarized at least three islands in the area, including Mischief Reef, which the US admiral said last year was one of them. The US Navy's actions prompted criticism from China's military, which said the destroyer "illegally trespassed into the waters... without the approval of the Chinese government."
The US Navy conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea near the Parcel Islands, challenging China's territorial claims. The People's Republic of China has claimed straight baselines around the islands, which the United States sees as a violation of international sea law. China protested the operation, accusing the US of violating its sovereignty and security and pursuing navigation hegemony.
China has warned of "serious consequences" after the US Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security. The US has challenged requirements from China, Taiwan, and Vietnam requiring either advance notification or permission before a military vessel sails by, calling it a "freedom of navigation operation." The US has no South China Sea claims itself, but has deployed Naval and Air Force assets for decades to patrol the strategic waterway.