US Navy destroyer performs freedom of navigation exercise in South China Sea

A US Navy destroyer sailed near the Paracel Islands in the northern South China Sea on Wednesday, challenging the restrictions imposed by China and others on transit through the disputed island chain.

Lt. Nicholas Lingo, a spokesperson for the US Navy's 7th Fleet headquartered in Japan, said it was the second so-called freedom of navigation operation in the Paracel Islands -- known as the Xisha Islands in China -- so far this year, and the third targeting Beijing's "excessive maritime claims" in regional waters during the same period.

Wednesday's operation by the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold challenged not only China but Vietnam and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which also claim the islands, as all three governments require military vessels to seek permission or give advance notice of "innocent passage" through the area, Lingo said.