11 August 2017

On Patrol In South China Sea USS JOHN S. MCCAIN

Published on Aug 10, 2017
ALERT - USS JOHN S. MCCAIN (DDG 56) PATROL SOUTH CHINA SEA,
CHINA'S ANGRY
USS John S McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, came within 12 miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The reef is part of a string of highly strategic islets and shoals where Beijing has built artificial islands to stage military bases.

The show of US force came as the Trump administration upped the pressure on China to bring Pyongyang to heel, just hours after North Korea threatened to target a US military base on the Pacific island of Guam.

China on Thursday voiced strong protest against a U.S. Navy warship passing close to the Meiji Reef of the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

The USS John S. McCain entered the waters near the reef and conducted a so-called "freedom of navigation operation" on Thursday without permission of the Chinese government, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, adding the Chinese Navy identified the U.S. warship, warned and expelled it.

"Such a move severely undermines China's sovereignty and security, and severely endangers the safety of frontline personnel of both sides," he said.

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