USA warship sails near disputed island in South China Sea

All three rival claimants have overlapping claims in the Paracels and require prior notice from ships transiting what they consider their territorial waters.

He noted that no claimants were notified prior to the transit.

The Chinese military will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and security regardless of provocative actions by the U.S., Yang said.

Calling the maneuver an “arbitrary entrance” of Chinese waters, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said “The Chinese side conducted surveillance and vocal warnings to the USA warship”, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

“Such actions are technically very unprofessional, they are irresponsible to the safety of servicemen of both sides, and are extremely unsafe in regard to (potential) outcomes”, Yang said, according to state-run Chinese media reports.

“It is advisable for Washington to contribute more to regional peace and cooperation, rather than making waves in the South China Sea and then pointing a finger at others on trumped-up charges”, it said. That exercise also was denounced by China.

Fairfax Media understands that while Australia played no support role to the U.S. in the freedom-of-navigation patrol, Canberra was forewarned by the USA that it was planning the exercise, underscoring the close co-operation between the allies on the issue.

Davis added that while the United States takes no position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, ‘we do take a strong position on protecting the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all countries.

China and some countries in the region, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, disagree over maritime boundaries and areas of responsibility in the South China and East China seas.

Calls had been growing in Congress for the Obama administration to follow up on its October operation.

The defense minister emphasized that Australia has been depending on maritime trade in the South China Sea for a long time with 60 percent of the country’s exports passing through the worldwide waterway.

“The US has extended its provocative naval activities in the South China Sea to the Xisha (Paracel) Islands which are much closer to the Chinese mainland than the Nansha (Spratley) Islands, which were previously targeted by US navy actions”.

Beijing lodged a formal protest over that and said its navy ships tracked the US vessel, warning it to leave.

China on Monday accused the United States of being the biggest incentive for militarization of the South China Sea, and urged it to stop creating tension in the name of “navigational freedom”.

As ironic as it is, Washington has always defended its arbitrary move by referring to global law, but it has so far not approved the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which establishes legal order and regulations on worldwide waters. In October, USS Lassen (DDG-84) conducted a FON op past a Chinese installation on an artificial island on Subi Reef in the Spratly Island chain.