Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG-82) conduct a man-overboard drill on Sept. 28, 2015 in the South China Sea. US Navy Photo
A recent U.S. Navy freedom of navigation mission in South China Sea was not limited to China’s artificial islands. Read More
USS Lassen (DDG-82) underway in the Philippine Sea in 2015. US Navy Photo
After months of deliberation, the U.S. has sent a guided missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese artificial island in the South China Sea in a move that practically rejects Chinese claims to the reclaimed reefs and has inflamed Beijing. Read More
Type 52 Luyang II guided missile destroyer Jinan
A trio of Chinese warships in the middle of a world tour are in route to Naval Station Mayport, Fla. for a scheduled goodwill port visit next month, U.S. Navy officials told USNI News on Thursday. Read More
Chief Of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson, address Sailors during an all-hands call in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on Oct. 15, 2015. US Navy Photo
The new U.S. Chief of Naval Operations said potential U.S. Navy freedom of navigation missions in the South China Sea are not meant to provoke nations but rather “part of exercising international rights in international waters.” Read More
Ships and submarines from the Republic of Singapore navy and U.S. Navy gather in formation during the underway phase of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Singapore 2015 on July 21, 2015. US Navy Photo
Amidst U.S. and Australian concerns of Chinese military expansion in the South China Sea, officials with China’s foreign ministry are claiming military facilities on a series of artificial islands are “for defense purposes only” in reaction to “high-profile display[s] of military strength and frequent and large-scale military drills by certain countries and their allies in the South China Sea,” according to a Wednesday press briefing. Read More
An April image of a ship that is almost certainly China’s first domestic aircraft carrier at the Dalian shipyard in northern China obtained on the Chinese language Internet.
China has quietly begun construction on its first domestic aircraft carrier in the same northern Chinese shipyard that refurbished the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s current Soviet-era carrier, USNI News has learned. Read More
Airstrip construction on the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea is pictured in this April 2, 2015.
China has completed a 10,000 foot runway on a reclaimed island in the South China Sea, according to a new round of satellite photos released Friday. Read More
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei during a Sept. 18, 2015 press conference. Chinese MoFA Photo
PENTAGON — Chinese officials again affirmed territorial sovereignty for a series of newly created artificial islands in the South China Sea and warned the U.S. against taking “risky and provocative action” by attempting to come within 12 nautical miles of the islands, according to a Friday press statement from Beijing. Read More
USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) conducts patrols in international waters of the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands on May 11, 2015. US Navy Photo
The Obama administration is considering conducting more freedom of navigation missions in the South China Sea as a partial counter to China’s rapid artificial island expansion in the region, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs told a Senate panel on Thursday. Read More
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert departs the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship Datong FFG 580 on July 17, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with a revised headline that better reflects the comments of Rear Adm. Jeff Harley.
LONDON— A two-star U.S. Navy admiral has played down fears that the Chinese government’s apparent determination to pursue its territorial claims in the South China Sea will lead inevitably to war. Read More
