2018/68, 28 May 2018
Events over the past few days suggest that the Trump administration is following through on the pledge it made in its 2017 National Security Strategy to take a firmer line against China’s military activities in the South China Sea.
On Sunday 27 May,
two US warships conducted a “freedom of navigation operation” (FONOP) in the Paracel Islands which China has controlled since 1974. The USS Higgins, a guided-missile destroyer, and the USS Antietam, a guided-missile cruiser, passed within 12 nautical miles of Tree, Lincoln, Triton and Woody islands in the Paracels. On 18 May, for the first time ever, the Chinese air force had landed a long-range strategic bomber on Woody Island.
“America Pushes Back Against China in the South China Sea” by Ian Storey
Events over the past few days suggest that the Trump administration is following through on the pledge it made in its 2017 National Security Strategy to take a firmer line against China’s military activities in the South China Sea.