American and Chinese naval vessels clashed near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Wednesday, escalating tensions in the disputed waters, a Navy spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) accused the USS Higgins, a guided missile destroyer, of encroaching on its waters surrounding Scarborough Reef, while the Navy called the claim false and vowed to operate wherever international law allows. The U.S. warships were deployed for a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) following a Monday confrontation between Chinese vessels and the Philippine coast guard in the South China Sea.
“USS Higgins conducted this FONOP in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations,” U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesperson Commander Megan Greene told the DCNF. “The operation reflects our commitment to uphold the freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the sea as a principle. The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here.”
