US destroyer sailing near Spratly Islands is exercising navigational rights

BEIJING, China - The United States destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) has exercised navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the disputed Spratly Islands, in accordance with international law, the U.S. Navy said on Friday.

The passage taken by the USS Preble, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, challenges restrictions on "innocent passage" imposed by the People's Republic of China, Taiwan and Vietnam with claims to the Spratly Islands, it said in a statement.

The navy called unilateral imposition of any authorisation or advance notification requirement for such passage "unlawful".

The US has done several freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea that China has slammed in the past. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, on the other hand, said it was not informed about the sailing of the US Preble near the Spratlys. 

However, the militaries of the Philippines, Japan, and US recently sailed within the Philippine exclusive economic zone as part of a multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MCA).

The MCA aims to strengthen the interoperability of the three countries in addressing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region.

“Under the UNCLOS, they are allowed to freely sail..All freedom of navigation operations pass the high seas, not the territorial waters,” said Philippine Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad. — Reuters with Vince Angelo Ferreras/BAP, GMA Integrated News