China Panic: US Destroyer Sails Through South China Sea waters China Claims
Channel: South China Sea
Date: 2020-04-30

The US sought to assert the "rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law," the Navy said in a statement.

"Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose an unprecedented threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships," it said.

The move came amid a rise in US-China tensions over the novel coronavirus epidemic, in which Washington has accused Beijing of hiding and downplaying the initial outbreak after the virus emerged late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan.