News
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Beijing’s challenge to US warship in South China Sea ‘deliberate and calculated’, observers say
By the normal rules for ensuring navigational safety ‘there’s no way we would see ships getting so close’, analyst says The incident happened when a Chinese Luyang-class destroyer sailed within 41 metres (135 feet) of the USS Decatur in an operation described by Washington as “unsafe and unprofessional” and by Beijing as a necessary defence of its territory. “Going by…
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The US military is reportedly planning to send US warships, combat aircraft, and troops through the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait in November in a series of exercises designed to send a message to Beijing.
The proposal, which comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and China, has yet to be approved. In recent weeks, Washington and Beijing have quarreled over trade, sanctions, Taiwan, repeated bomber flights over disputed seas, and a confrontation between US and Chinese warships. The US military is reportedly planning to put on a serious show of force…
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US will step up FONOPs
After the “close encounter of the unsafe kind” last week between US Navy destroyer USS Decatur and Chinese destroyer Lanzhou during a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) conducted by the American ship in the vicinity of Gaven Reef in the Spratlys, the US Pacific Fleet is drafting a classified proposal for a series of operations involving warships, combat aircraft and…
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Tensions are rising in the South China Sea, and a US ally there has already drawn ‘red lines’ with China
Tensions between between Washington and Beijing in the South China Sea appear to have spiked in recent days. The situation there is already fraught, as many countries have challenged China over its expansive claims and its construction on contested territory. The US, China, and the Philippines have already had a showdown over one of those territories, and things there could…
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US navy plans major show of strength in South China Sea as warning to Beijing
Freedom of navigation operation will take place amid rising tensions and near-collision between USS Decatur and Chinese vessel The United States Pacific Fleet has drawn up a plan for a major show of force as a warning to China that will indicate its determination to counter Beijing’s military activity, it was reported on Thursday amid rising tension over the disputed…
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US VP to tell China: We will not be intimidated in South China Sea
WASHINGTON — US Vice President Mike Pence, sharpening US criticism of Chinese policies around the globe, will give China a blunt warning on Thursday that the United States will not back down from what Washington sees as Chinese intimidation in the South China Sea. Pence will deliver an address at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington at 1500 GMT…
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Chinese destroyer comes dangerously close to US ship in South China Sea
BEIJING — A Chinese destroyer came aggressively close to a U.S. Navy ship in the South China Sea, forcing it to maneuver to prevent a collision, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said Tuesday, describing an encounter that could worsen tensions between the nations. The Chinese warship approached the USS Decatur in an “unsafe and unprofessional maneuver” on Sunday near Gaven Reefs…
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‘Maneuvered to prevent collision’: Chinese destroyer chases USS Decatur in South China Sea
A Chinese destroyer sent to escort the USS Decatur on a ‘freedom of navigation’ sail-by in the disputed South China Sea came dangerously close and forced the US vessel to maneuver to “prevent collision,” the US Navy said. The encounter between the US and Chinese Navies unfolded on Sunday morning when the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, sailing under the ‘freedom of…
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China condemns US for South China Sea freedom of navigation operation
BEIJING – China expressed anger on Tuesday after a US Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the disputed South China Sea, saying it resolutely opposed an operation that it called a threat to its sovereignty. Beijing and Washington are locked in a trade war in which they have imposed increasingly severe rounds of tariffs on each other’s…
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South China Sea: Chinese ship forces US destroyer off course
A Chinese warship has forced an American destroyer to change course in the South China Sea by sailing close to it in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner, the US Navy says. The USS Decatur was sailing past the Gaven and Johnson reefs in the disputed Spratly Islands, which China claims. The Luyang destroyer “approached within 45 yards [41m] of Decatur’s…
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US says Chinese destroyer was ‘aggressive’ and ‘unsafe,’ coming dangerously close to American ship
China expressed anger on Tuesday after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by Beijing in the disputed South China Sea, saying it resolutely opposed an operation that it called a threat to its sovereignty. Beijing and Washington are locked in a trade war in which they have imposed increasingly severe rounds of tariffs on each other’s imports.…
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World War Three alert: ‘You CAN’T stop us sailing there’ US warship heads into China Sea
THE UNITED States have taken tensions with China to a new high by “asserting their right” to sail warships past disputed islands in the South China Sea. China warn US Navy for flying past South China Sea islands Play Video A guided-missile destroyer, USS Decatur sailed within 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles on land) of reefs near the Spratly Islands…