US-China tension: In a major development, the US Navy destroyer sailed close to one of the most crucial man-made and Chinese-controlled islands in the South China Sea on Monday.
This triggered a major geopolitical tension between the two superpowers-- with Beijing claiming more than 80% of the region as theirs, whereas Pentagon rejects its affirmations and proclaimed "it sails according to international laws".
The United States, on several occasions, termed it international navigation rights, while Beijing called it "illegal".
US says it is free to sail
In a statement released on Monday, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the US Naby engaged in normal operations within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands-- the internationally recognized limit of a nation's territorial waters of Mischief Reef in the Spratly islands known as the Nansha Islands in China.
"Under customary international law ... features like Mischief Reef that are submerged at high tide in their naturally formed state are not entitled to a territorial sea,” Bloomberg quoted the statement released by the 7th Fleet.
"The land reclamation efforts, installations, and structures built on Mischief Reef do not change this characterisation under international law," it added.
Interestingly, Mischief Reef, also known as Panganiban Reef, is a low tide elevation reef/atoll surrounding a large lagoon in the SE of Dangerous Ground in the east of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Although China claims the region as their own, neighbouring nations such as Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines and Cambodia dispute Beijing's claim.
Tension came amid the China-Taiwan row
It is worth mentioning that major geopolitical tension flared at the time when China and Taiwan tension reached a zenith after Beijing started a three-day “combat readiness patrol” in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the United States. Earlier today, the Taiwanese Defence Ministry claimed at least 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 PLAN vessels around the country.
China responds
Meanwhile, China's PLA denounced the US action and called it "illegal. It said the US Navy entered its region without approval and added its forces warned the US to stay away.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the surrounding maritime area,” Bloomberg quoted its Southern Theatre Command said.
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