US freedom of navigation patrols in South China Sea hit record high in 2019
- Data obtained by the Post is first official confirmation of the extent of Washington’s patrols in the South China Sea during the past five years
- Evidence of a ‘concrete drive’ by the Trump administration, says expert
US Navy vessels sailed within 12 nautical miles of features claimed or occupied by China nine times in 2019, according to data released by the US Pacific Fleet – the highest number of so-called freedom of navigation patrols (FONOPs) since Beijing controversially began constructing artificial islands around disputed reefs in the waterway in 2014.
Late last month, the USS Montgomery sailed within a few miles of Fiery Cross Reef in the first publicly acknowledged patrol of 2020 in the waterway, where mainland China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims. Beijing accused Washington of “deliberate provocations” over the patrol near the reef in the disputed Spratly Islands.
The new data, released by the US Pacific Fleet Public Affairs office after a freedom of information request by the South China Morning Post, is the first official confirmation of the extent of Washington’s freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea during the past five years.
