According to the Financial Times, United States navy ships are preparing to sail through a 12-nautical mile zone around the disputed Spratly Islands that China claims as its own territory.
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Citing Pentagon officials, the report said the ships would set off “within days” of the mission getting the final approval from the Obama administration.
China has bristled at what it sees as us interference in the region and says it is within its sovereign rights in developing islands made from sand piled on top of reefs and atolls.
Washington has signaled it doesn’t acknowledge Beijing’s sovereignty over the a number of…
In a speech to the Aspen Security Forum in July, Adm. Harry Harris, commander of USA forces in the Pacific, said China was building hangars on Fiery Cross Reef that appeared to be for tactical fighter aircraft. “This is something the USA has done on several other occasions because the president is committed to the principle of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea”.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was asked by reporters about possible U.S patrols in the South China Sea on Friday. “We urge (the) relevant party to refrain from saying or doing anything provocative and act responsibly in maintaining regional peace and stability”, she said, referring to the US.
China claims most of the South China Sea, where The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
The issue is central to increasingly tense relations between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies.
China has completed the construction of two lighthouses in the disputed South China Sea, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Friday. The United States does not recognize China’s territorial claims in the region, which also are contested by the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries.
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It said China’s transport ministry would continue to construct facilities to provide passing vessels and countries in the region with navigational services.
