Tag: USS Decatur

Chinese destroyer extremely close to US warship: US

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A Chinese warship sailed within yards of an American destroyer — forcing it to change course — in an “unsafe and unprofessional” encounter as the US vessel was in contested waters in the South China Sea, an official said Monday. The USS Decatur guided-missile destroyer was conducting what the military calls a “freedom of navigation operation” Sunday, when it passed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson reefs in […]

US warship sails near South China Sea area claimed by Beijing: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An American warship has sailed through waters off the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in the latest implicit challenge to Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the region, the Pentagon said Sunday. “Guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur conducted a freedom of navigation operation,” an official told AFP. “Decatur sailed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands.” The official said all US military operations […]

China slams ‘provocative’ US sail-by in South China Sea

  BEIJING, China | AFP | — China has slammed the US for sailing a warship near disputed territory in the South China Sea, saying the move was a “serious illegal act” and “deliberately provocative”. In a statement on its website late Friday night, the country’s defence ministry said two Chinese naval vessels warned off a US ship after it entered “Chinese territorial waters” near the Paracel Islands, known as Xisha in Chinese. China controls […]