USA: The US Navy reported that on Monday, the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius carried out a mission in support of navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea close to the Spratly Islands. The announcement came as tensions between China and the US in the region were rising and the Chinese military was simulating precision strikes against Taiwan in military exercises around the island.
According to the US Navy, the destroyer's operation complied with international law. A US Navy statement read, "At the conclusion of the operation, USS Milius departed the excessive claim area and continued operations in the South China Sea. The rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea were upheld by this freedom of navigation operation.
China denounced the US warship's "illegal" entry.
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According to a statement released by the Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command, the missile destroyer USS Milius "illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to the Meiji Reef in China's Nansha Islands without the approval of the Chinese government." Beijing's air force also "followed and carried out surveillance of the vessel."
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China and the US got into a heated argument last month over the USS Milius' movement, which China claimed caused it to enter its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.
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Huge swaths of the area that cross exclusive economic zones of several nations, including the Philippines, are claimed by China. Every year, the waterway handles trade worth trillions of dollars.