The Chicoms essentially went into the Spratly Islands (which have historically been claimed by Vietnam and The Philippines) and created an island by dredging up several reefs and atolls. The U.S. Navy is rightfully challenging the Chinese claims by sailing within the theoretical 12 mile territorial limits of those islands.
A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 miles of a disputed Chinese man-made island in the South China Sea on Wednesday — the first such challenge to a Chinese maritime claim to take place under the Trump administration.
According to a U.S. official, the destroyer USS Dewey sailed within 12 miles of Mischief Reef on Wednesday, conducting a freedom of navigation operation, or FONOP, said a U.S. official. The reef is one of seven artificial islands in the Spratly Islands that China has claimed as its territory after building up reefs that at times have been underwater.
In recent years China dredged massive amounts of sand and earth to build up the reefs into islands that now include airfields and other facilities that could be used by China’s military.
The U.S. military’s freedom of navigation operations challenge disputed maritime claims made by countries worldwide by sailing within the territorial limits that extend 12 miles from shore.
Wednesday’s freedom of navigation operation operation near Mischief Reef was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The move is sure to antagonize China, which has reacted negatively to previous freedom of navigation operations near the Spratlys and Paracels, two island chains in the South China Sea. The last time the U.S. military conducted such an operation near a disputed island in the South China Sea was in October, under Barack Obama’s administration.