The US deployment of a navy vessel to the South China Sea in waters close to disputed islands in the archipelago claimed by Beijing has been viewed as being 'intrusive' in a commentary by the state-run Xinhua news agency. It has accused Washington of 'threatening the sovereignty of other countries and challenging the international order' by sending a navy vessel 'without China's authorisation'.
A US Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Curtis Wilbur, on Saturday (Jan 30) sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Zhongjian Dao in the Xisha Islands, which, according to the US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's office, was 'innocent passage' and 'consistent with international law.'
However, Xinhua pointed out that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 'innocent passage has its conditions - it should not be "prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State." It went on to say that the UN law also stipulates that 'foreign ships exercising the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea shall comply with related laws and regulations the coastal State may adopt.'
