US Navy destroyer performs freedom of navigation exercise in South China Sea
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on July 14, 2022
Lt. Nicholas Lingo, a spokesperson for the US Navy's 7th Fleet headquartered in Japan, said it was the second so-called freedom of navigation operation in the Paracel Islands -- known as the Xisha Islands in China -- so far this year, and the third targeting Beijing's "excessive maritime claims" in regional waters during the same period.
Wednesday's operation by the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold challenged not only China but Vietnam and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which also claim the islands, as all three governments require military vessels to seek permission or give . . .
