UPI.com:

A U.S. Navy ship sailed by islands claimed by China in the South China Sea, on Wednesday, in an open challenge to Beijing’s disputed maritime claims in the region.

The USS Russell guided-missile destroyer “asserted navigational rights” on Wednesday, when it sailed by the Spratly Islands, the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement.

The freedom of navigation operation “upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging unlawful restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan,” it said.

The Spratly Islands, an archipelago of islets, reefs, and rocks within the South China Sea, face overlapping claims of sovereignty by China and several coastal nations including Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, and the Philippines…

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