ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

U.S. dismisses China objections to South China Sea mission

During Exercise Pacific Vanguard during a Regional Presence Deployment in the South China Sea, on Aug. 22, 2022. (LSIS David Cox / Royal Australian Navy via AP) During Exercise Pacific Vanguard during a Regional Presence Deployment in the South China Sea, on Aug. 22, 2022. (LSIS David Cox / Royal Australian Navy via AP)
Share
BEIJING -

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday dismissed Beijing's protests over a "freedom of navigation operation" conducted near a Chinese-held island in the South China Sea, in the latest incident drawing new attention to one of the world's potential military flashpoints.

In an unusual move, the Navy's 7th Fleet issued a rebuttal to China's objections to Tuesday's mission, calling it "the latest in a long string of (Chinese) actions to misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime operations and assert its excessive and illegitimate maritime claims" in the South China Sea. China claims the area virtually in its entirety.

The Navy said that China's sweeping maritime claims pose a serious threat to the freedom of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations.

"As long as some countries continue to claim and assert limits on rights that exceed their authority under international law, the United States will continue to defend the rights and freedoms of the sea guaranteed to all," it said.

The Navy said its guided missile cruiser USS Chancelorsville on Tuesday "asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law."

China called the action illegal and said it mobilized naval and air asserts to issue warnings and drive off the ship.

"The U.S. military's actions have seriously violated China's sovereignty and security, which is further ironclad evidence of its pursuit of navigational hegemony and militarization of the South China Sea," spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command, Air Force Col. Tian Junli, was quoted as saying.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters," Tian said.

The long-seething South China Sea territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have long been regarded as a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

While the U.S. lays no claims to the strategic waterway, where an estimated US$5 trillion in global trade transits each year, it has said that freedom of navigation and overflight is in America's national interest. The sea is also home to rich fishing stocks and a potential wealth of energy and mineral resources.

In March, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino told The Associated Press that China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed waters with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment. He described it as an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby.

Then in July, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing's vast claims on historical grounds in the South China Sea.

On a visit to the area earlier this month, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. She also announced an additional aid of $7.5 million to Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies.

That came shortly after the Philippine navy alleged a Chinese coast guard vessel had forcibly seized Chinese rocket debris as Filipino sailors were towing it to their island.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.