icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
22 Dec, 2020 23:11

The unwelcome McCain: US destroyer ‘expelled’ from South China Sea weeks after being ‘chased out’ of Russian waters

The unwelcome McCain: US destroyer ‘expelled’ from South China Sea weeks after being ‘chased out’ of Russian waters

Chinese naval and air assets joined forces to ‘expel’ the destroyer USS John S. McCain from the disputed islands in the South China Sea, Beijing announced. The US Navy claimed it was on another ‘freedom of navigation’ cruise.

The People’s Liberation Army “expelled US destroyer USS John S. McCain after it trespassed into China’s territorial waters off Nansha Islands in the South China Sea,” Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for the PLA Southern Theatre Command, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The PLA “opposes US actions which endanger China’s sovereignty and security, as well as peace in the South China Sea,” the colonel said, adding that the Chinese military remains “on high alert.”

Also on rt.com China & Russia listed as main rivals in new US maritime strategy aimed at shaping ‘balance of power for the rest of the century’

Nansha is the name China gave to the Spratly Islands, an archipelago of small islands and underwater reefs that multiple countries lay a claim to. Beijing has built man-made islands on several of the reefs and constructed military facilities to bolster its territorial claims.

READ MORE: US nuclear submarine sails into Persian Gulf as Israel sends own sub through Suez Canal in ‘message to Iran’

The US Navy confirmed the guided missile destroyer’s presence in the area, but obviously had a very different narrative concerning the events. The McCain“steamed” past the disputed islands “in another demonstration of freedom of maritime navigation,” said a spokesman for the 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan.

The McCain did not seek permission for the move or give warning, in order to “demonstrate that innocent passage may not be subject to such restrictions,” said Lieutenant Joe Keiley, who added that “all interactions with foreign military forces were consistent with international norms and did not impact the operation.”

Also on rt.com Are you invading, or just lost? Russian navy threatens to ram US warship ‘John McCain’ after it crosses border near Vladivostok

Last month, the McCain made a similar venture into Russian waters off the coast of Vladivostok, also in the guise of “freedom of navigation” operations (FONOP). The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer retreated after being warned by the Russian Udaloy-class destroyer Admiral Vinogradov of the “potential of resorting to ramming to force the trespasser out of the territory.” 

The McCain was infamously rammed by a cargo ship off the coast of Singapore in August 2017. Ten soldiers died in the incident, which the US Navy has since blamed on equipment problems and lack of training. The ship had just returned from a FONOP in the South China Sea.

Commissioned in 1994, the McCain is named after the late US Senator John Sidney McCain III (R-Arizona) and his father and grandfather, both Navy admirals. 

Also on rt.com ‘Want trouble? You first!’ Philippines’ Duterte dares US to bring its fleet & declare war on China

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

Podcasts
0:00
23:13
0:00
25:0