The United States has sent a ship through the northern South China Sea near the disputed Paracel Islands in a move condemned by China. The USS Benfold sailed near the archipelago of more than 100 reefs and islands, which are held by China and claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, in a “freedom of navigation operation” that the US said was necessary to assert rights and freedoms under of international law in water disputes. “Illegal and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded trade, and freedom of economic opportunity for the littoral nations of the South China Sea” . the US 7th Fleet said in a statement on Wednesday. Beijing, which took control of Woody Island in the Paracels in 1955, reacted angrily to the presence of the US destroyer. Woody Island is the most prominent feature in the island chain, and China has built an airport and other facilities there. “On July 13, the US guided-missile destroyer ‘Benfold’ illegally invaded China’s Paracel territorial waters without the approval of the Chinese government,” said Tian Junli, a spokesman for the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command. The move “seriously harmed the peace and stability of the South China Sea and seriously violated international law and the rules of international relations,” Tian said, according to Reuters news agency. Tensions have simmered for years in the South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely. Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines also have claims to the waters. Manila filed a legal challenge to Beijing’s actions at sea in 2013, and the Hague tribunal ruled three years later that China’s claim had no legal basis. Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling and says its so-called historical rights on which its sovereignty claims are based predate the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS defines what countries can claim from various geographical features in the sea and also governs maritime conduct. China and the Philippines are among the 167 parties that have signed and ratified UNCLOS. The US has not ratified the legislation, but recognizes the instrument as customary international law. In its statement, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet noted that China, Taiwan and Vietnam were violating international law by requiring either permission or advance notice before a military vessel or warship made an “innocent passage” through the waters around from the Paracels. He said sailing on the USS Benfold was a challenge to such “illegal restrictions”.
