China claims it drove away US destroyer in South China Sea. Navy destroyer was on freedom of navigation exercise.
Where: World
The Facts
China has claimed it drove away a US Navy destroyer from the disputed South China Sea.
The destroyer was reportedly performing a ‘freedom of navigation’ operation in the Paracel Islands, known as the Xisha Islands in China.
Lt. Nicholas Lingo of the Navy’s 7th fleet in Japan said this was the second such exercise this year and the third overall to check Beijing’s “excessive maritime claims.”
The exercise involved USS Benfold, a guided missile destroyer.
The exercise also challenged Vietnam and Taiwan since they too require military vessels to seek permission or give advance notice of “innocent passage” through the region.
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