All articles tagged with #uss milius
The US Navy's USS Milius conducted a navigational rights and freedoms mission in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law, according to a statement by the US Navy. The move comes amid growing tensions between China and the US in the region, with China claiming vast swathes of the area that overlap with exclusive economic zones of various countries.
The US Navy has denied that the USS Milius was expelled from China's maritime territory around the Paracel Islands, contradicting claims by China's Southern Theatre Command. The 7th Fleet confirmed that the destroyer was conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and was not expelled. The US will continue to operate wherever international law allows. The Milius was not conducting a freedom of navigation operation at the time of the incident.
The US Navy's 7th Fleet denied China's claim that it had driven away an American guided-missile destroyer from operating around disputed islands in the South China Sea. The US Navy stated that the USS Milius was conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and was not expelled. China occupies the Paracel Islands, but they are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The incident comes amid growing tensions between China and the United States in the region, as Washington pushes back at Beijing's growingly assertive posture in the South China Sea and elsewhere.