A United States Navy guided-missile destroyer cruised near a Chinese man-made military outpost in the West Philippine Sea on Monday, drawing condemnation from China, which described the warship’s entry into the waters as an “illegal” intrusion.
The USS Milius conducted a freedom of navigation operation within 12 nautical miles or 22 kilometers of Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, a Chinese military base located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and “upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea,” according to the US Navy’s 7th Fleet.
China on Monday assailed the entry of the US warship into waters it claims in the South China Sea.
“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,” Tian Junli, spokesperson for the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command, said in a statement.
The Chinese official added that Beijing’s air force “followed and carried out surveillance of the vessel.”
The US Navy mission took place as China was expected to conclude the third day of its military exercises around Taiwan and as the Philippines and the United States were set to begin their largest ever military exercises on Tuesday.
High-seas freedoms “USS Milius demonstrated that Mischief Reef, a low-tide elevation in its natural state, is not entitled to a territorial sea under international law,” the 7th Fleet said.
“By engaging in normal operations within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, the United States demonstrated that vessels can lawfully exercise high-seas freedoms in those areas,” it said.
Panganiban Reef, located about 130 nautical miles (240 km) from mainland Palawan, was seized by China from the Philippines in 1995.
Beijing has since transformed the underwater feature into one of its biggest artificially built islands in the Spratly chain, also known in the Philippines as the Kalayaan island group. The island base has a 3-km airstrip, missile shelters, hangars and radars.
The Philippines has nine small military detachments in these waters, which it calls the West Philippine Sea, while other claimants aside from China are maintaining their own outposts.
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