The US Navy sent a warship within 12 miles of China’s man-made military islands in the South China Sea.
U.S. Navy sends destroyer within 12 miles of China’s man-made islands, U.S. defense official says. https://t.co/U1W3Lie94f.
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) October 27, 2015
China called the presence of a US ship a provocation.
In response to the “provocation” China shadowed the US warship in the disputed sea.
Reuters reported:
A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed close to China’s man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it warned and followed the American vessel.
The patrol by the USS Lassen was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits China asserts around the islands in the Spratly archipelago and could ratchet up tension in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
One U.S. defense official said the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef. A second defense official said the mission, which lasted a few hours, included Mischief Reef and would be the first in a series of freedom-of-navigation exercises aimed at testing China’s territorial claims.
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