A U.S. Navy warship sailed near some of the Chinese military’s most advanced weapons outposts in the South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing.
The guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville carried out a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near the Spratly Islands to challenge Chinese claims to own 90 percent of the sea, Navy Lt. Luka Bakic said in a statement.
Lt. Bakic also denied Chinese military claims the warship was driven out of the sea.
“The PRC’s statement about this mission is false,” he said. “USS Chancellorsville conducted this FONOP in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations in waters where high seas freedoms apply.