Two U.S. Navy warships sailed near Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday, two days after a Chinese navy destroyer collided with another Chinese vessel while pursuing a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the PCG said the USS Higgins (DDG-76) and USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) were monitored from a distance of 56 kilometers (30 nautical miles) off Scarborough Shoal. A Chinese navy ship shadowed the U.S. vessels but no incident occurred.
China’s Southern Theater Command claimed it “tracked, monitored, warned, and expelled” the USS Higgins after the ship allegedly entered Chinese territorial waters without government approval, violating China’s sovereignty.
Beijing claims sovereignty over the shoal, which it calls Huangyan Dao, and rejects a 2016 international ruling that found no legal basis for its claim.
The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet rejected China’s claims that it forced the USS Higgins to leave, stating that the ship had “asserted navigational rights and freedoms” near Scarborough Shoal “consistent with international law.”
“The United States is defending its right to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us,” the fleet added.
Scarborough Shoal, roughly 120 nautical miles west of the Philippine province of Zambales, is claimed by China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The U.S., bound by a mutual defense treaty with Manila, earlier condemned the recent Chinese actions as reckless.
“We condemn this latest reckless action by China directed against a Philippine vessel… and commend the Philippine Coast Guard for their professionalism and their offer to render assistance,” U.S. Ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, said on X.
