China sent military vessels and aircraft in an attempt to expel a U.S. warship asserting international freedom of navigation rights in the Paracel Islands of the disputed South China Sea on Friday.
The U.S. Navy said in a statement that guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer had conducted a ¡°freedom of navigation operation¡± (FONOP) without requesting permission from Beijing ¡ª or from Hanoi or Taipei, which also claim the archipelago.
The FONOP ¡°challenged the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and also contested China¡¯s claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands,¡± said Cmdr. Reann Mommsen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy¡¯s 7th Fleet.
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