Although the United States has cast itself as the global enforcer of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Washington has never been a signatory to the treaty.
The US Seventh Fleet announced on Thursday that one of its warships, the USS John S. McCain, had performed a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near Vietnam’s Con Dao Islands. During the brazen maneuvers, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer purposefully sailed through territorial waters claimed by Vietnam to demonstrate Washington’s rejection of the claim.
In the past, Hanoi has supported FONOPs when carried out in China’s claimed waters, but more recently, the US has begun challenging Vietnam’s claims as well, particularly in the Spratly Islands.
While the report was non-specific about the US’ objections concerning the Con Dao Islands, a 1983 report by the US State Department calls attention to Hanoi’s straight baselines drawn around Con Dao and other island groups off the country’s southern coast. The report claims the islands, which are 53 miles from the Vietnamese mainland, are too far away to be included in such territorial claims.
This was the McCain’s second FONOP this week: just two days earlier, the destroyer sailed past the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea to protest claims over the islands and nearby waters by both Hanoi and Beijing. Just days before that, another US warship, the destroyer USS Mustin, sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
While the US insists the Taiwan strait is part of international waters, China says these activities are undermining peace and stability in the area.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
