A US destroyer conducts a rights of navigation mission in the South China Sea

Chinese authorities condemn "illegal trespass" by US warship

The US Navy has affirmed this Monday that its destroyer ship USS Milius has carried out a mission of rights and freedoms of navigation in the South China Sea, "in accordance with International Law".

"At the end of the operation, the USS Milius has left the excessive claim area and has continued its operations," according to a statement from the United States Seventh Fleet, which has indicated that the maneuver took place less than twelve nautical miles. (about 22 kilometers) from Mischief Reef, located in the Spratly Islands.

The US authorities have indicated that, "under Customary International Law, reflected in the Convention on the Law of the Sea, features such as the Mischief Reef that are submerged at high tide in their natural state have no right to a territorial sea."

"By conducting commons within twelve nautical miles of Mischief Reef, the United States has demonstrated that ships can legally exercise the freedom of the high seas in those areas," the letter continues.

On the other hand, it has criticized the "illegal and widespread maritime claims in the South China Sea", considering that they "pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and freedom of economic opportunity for riparian nations.

Thus, Washington has remarked that it "challenges excessive maritime claims throughout the world, regardless of the claimant's identity", insisting on the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea: "It grants all nations certain rights and freedoms and other uses legitimate of the sea".

"As long as some countries continue to claim and assert limits to rights that exceed their authority under international law, the United States will continue to uphold the rights and freedoms of the sea guaranteed to all. No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into resigning to their rights and freedoms," the US Navy said.

For their part, Chinese authorities have condemned the US decision to enter waters near Mischief Reef without Chinese government approval.

Southern Theater Command spokesman Colonel Tian Junli has stated that the US destroyer "illegally broke into the waters adjacent to the reef."

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters. Theater troops maintain a high level of alert at all times and resolutely safeguard sovereignty and national security, as well as peace and stability," according to a statement.