This picture taken in April 2017 shows an aerial view of a reef in the disputed Spratly islands. – AFP photo
MOSCOW (March 24): The United States Seventh Fleet said today, in response to criticism from China over the second intrusion by the American guided missile destroyer USS Milius in the waters of the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, that the vessel acted in accordance with international law.
“On March 24 (local time) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law,” the fleet said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said that the USS Milius entered the disputed waters for the second time this week, after a similar move on Thursday, undermining China’s sovereignty and security. He stressed that Beijing demands that the United States stop such provocative actions.
Beijing has long been disputing ownership of a number of hydrocarbon-rich islands in the South China Sea with several Asia-Pacific countries. The territories include the Paracel archipelago, also known as the Xisha Islands, the Spratly Islands, and the Scarborough Shoal.
In July 2016, following a lawsuit filed by the Philippines, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China had no grounds for territorial claims in the South China Sea. According to the court, the disputed territories of the Spratly archipelago are not considered islands in the legal sense, but rather rocks or low-tide elevations which do not form an exclusive economic zone. Beijing has said that it did not consider the decision of the court valid and did not recognise it. – Bernama