Freedom of Navigation Operations

China Claims It ‘Expelled’ U.S. Warship from South China Sea

The U.S. Navy announced its latest Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea on Friday, as the guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law.” China claimed air and naval units of its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “tracked, monitored, and warned off” the American ship.

US destroyer

China Claims It ‘Expelled’ U.S. Warship Sailing Near Disputed Islands

The U.S. Navy announced on Tuesday that the USS Montgomery, an advanced littoral combat ship, sailed near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Saturday to “assert navigational rights and freedoms consistent with international law.” It was the first Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) of 2020. 

This photo taken on June 29, 2019, shows USS Montgomery (LCS 8), an Independence-class lit

U.S. Conducts Freedom of Navigation Patrol in Taiwan Strait

Two U.S. warships passed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday in a Freedom of Navigation Patrol (FONOP). The passage was taken by Taiwan as a heartening show of American support, and by China as an annoying challenge to its military might and territorial integrity.

In this handout provided by the U.S. Navy and released on March 26, 2005, the guided-missi

China Threatens U.S. Freedom of Navigation Patrols with Anti-Ship Missiles

China responded to the latest U.S. Navy freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea by declaring it would “take necessary actions to protect state sovereignty” and touting its deployment of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles as a step toward doing so. Chinese state media pointedly described the missiles as “ship-killers.”

China says the USS Hopper, center in this 2009 file photo, was involved in a close encount