US warship tests Beijing claims in South China Sea

A US navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, US officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since US President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

The US patrol marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

The move comes as President Donald Trump urges China to ratchet up the pressure on North Korea to rein in its missile and nuclear programmes.
“We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea,” Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesperson, said. “We operate in accordance with international law. We fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows. Freedom of navigation is not about any one country, or any one body of water.”

Territorial waters are generally defined by UN convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a state's coastline.

One US official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated China's claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The United States has criticised China's construction of the man-made islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and expressed concern they could be used to restrict free movement.

US allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the new administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

Last month, top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the United States would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon, without offering any details.