US warships sail in neighborhood of disputed shoal the place Chinese language ships collided

[ad_1] A US Navy guided-missile destroyer carried out a Freedom of Navigation operation (FONOP) close to disputed Scarborough Shoal within the South China Sea on Wednesday, simply two days after two Chinese language navy vessels collided whereas chasing a Philippine Coast Guard ship in close by waters.

The presence of the US ship within the space prompted China’s navy to accuse the US Navy of violating it’s territorial sovereignty, however the US Navy stated it had the appropriate to be there.

“USS Higgins (DDG 76) asserted navigational rights and freedoms within the South China Sea close to Scarborough Reef, per worldwide legislation,” US Navy seventh Fleet spokesperson Lt. Sarah Merrill stated in a press release to CNN.

China, the Philippines and Taiwan all declare sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, which is about 140 miles (222 kilometers) west of the principle Philippine island of Luzon and inside the Philippines unique financial zone.

However China has successfully managed the uninhabited shoal since 2012 by sustaining an nearly fixed coast guard presence in close by waters, based on the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

China and Taiwan every require advance notification of passage inside the territorial waters of the reef, in violation of worldwide legal guidelines guaranteeing the appropriate of “harmless passage” by overseas warships, Merrill stated. The Philippines doesn't impose this requirement, she added.

Merrill denied an earlier declare by China’s Southern Theater Command that it “organized its forces to trace, monitor, warn and expel” the US warship because it “violated China’s territorial sovereignty.”

“China’s assertion about this mission is fake,” Merrill stated.

“The US is defending its proper to fly, sail and function wherever worldwide legislation permits, as USS Higgins did right here. Nothing China says in any other case will deter us,” Merrill stated.

In response to the Philippine Coast Guard, the USS Higgins wasn’t the one US warship within the neighborhood of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday.

The littoral fight ship USS Cincinnati was additionally close by, spokesperson Jay Tarriela stated in a press release on X.

Merrill would solely affirm to CNN that the Cincinnati was working within the South China Sea.

Wednesday’s FONOP was the primary close to Scarborough Shoal in additional than six years, based on Collin Koh, a analysis fellow on the S. Rajaratnam Faculty of Worldwide Research (RSIS) in Singapore, who retains a database of US Freedom of Navigation operations.

It was additionally simply the second FONOP in 2025, after one within the Spratly Islands in Might.

The US carried out two FONOPs within the South China Sea in 2024 after executing 5 in 2023, based on Koh’s database.

China says such missions by the US threaten its sovereignty and peace and stability within the South China Sea.

Tensions round Scarborough Shoal, house to wealthy fishing grounds, have been growing as Beijing turns into extra assertive in claiming of sovereignty over a lot of the South China Sea and Manila pushes again, embarking unbiased journalists on Philippine Coast Guard missions to doc what it calls Chinese language aggression.

Wednesday’s US Navy operation got here two days after a Chinese language navy guided-missile destroyer and coast guard ship collided close to the shoal whereas chasing a Philippine Coast Guard vessel.

The collision prompted heavy harm to the bow of the China Coast Guard ship.

In a state-run International Occasions report late Wednesday, Chinese language consultants positioned the blame for Monday’s incident on the Philippines and, not directly, its protection treaty ally, the US.

The Philippine Coast Guard vessel made repeated harmful maneuvers in entrance of the Chinese language Coast Guard ship, the International Occasions report stated, with out mentioning the presence of the Chinese language destroyer.

The media outlet reported that Chinese language consultants had stated the “Philippine ship’s maneuvers severely compromised the navigational security of the Chinese language vessel, and significantly violated probably the most fundamental rules and guidelines of maritime navigational security.”

The report was accompanied by a 26-second video clip, which allegedly exhibits reckless motion by the Philippine vessel, although didn't present the second of the collision between the Chinese language ships.

“The total accountability for the ensuing damages lies with the Philippine facet, and all losses ought to be fully borne by the Philippine vessel that provoked and prompted the incident at sea,” the report stated in doable reference to the collision, which China has not particularly admitted.

Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, reviewed the International Occasions video for CNN and stated the Chinese language ship, being the overtaking ship, could be answerable for signaling its intentions to the Philippine vessel.

“There isn't a proof they did so and the Philippine Coast Guard vessel is below no obligation to heave to,” or give method, Schuster stated.

The International Occasions article quoted Yang Xiao, an knowledgeable on maritime points on the China Institutes of Modern Worldwide Relations, who pointed the finger of blame on the US navy for coaching its Philippine ally in gray-zone techniques, actions beneath the extent of open warfare however using greater than diplomacy or negotiations.

Yang stated the techniques violate “internationally accepted norms of maritime legislation enforcement” and “might result in critical miscalculations and heightened dangers of battle at sea.”