On December 4, the US Navy littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords conducted its first recorded freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the East Sea.
This is the second FONOP by the US Navy in the East Sea within 10 days, taking place after the summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on November 15.
Previously, on November 23, the Gabrielle Giffords conducted maritime cooperation activities in the East Sea as well as conducted joint patrols with the Philippine military from November 21 to 23.
The US 7th Fleet said in a statement that this was a routine operation in the South China Sea, as the US has done for decades. These activities demonstrate the US commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo- Pacific region. Meanwhile, the Chinese military immediately issued a statement criticizing the US for invading its waters without Beijing's consent.
According to expert Collin Koh, from the Institute of Strategic and Defense Studies - a member unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), this is the first time that Second Thomas Shoal has been clearly mentioned as a destination in a FONOP.
Meanwhile, also according to USNI News, the Philippines on December 4 issued a statement saying that more than 135 China Maritime Militia (CMM) were gathering around Second Thomas Shoal in the East Sea.
KHANH MINH
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