The report of the third patrol comes weeks after the the super carrier John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers and the 7th Fleet flagship sailed into the disputed waters. The patrol will likely be carried out by an Arleigh Burke class destroyer.
The report by reuters does not mention the exact timing of the patrol that would sale through the 12-nautical mile limit around a disputed island would occur, but it’s thought to be within hours or days.
“Experts predict the next U.S. challenge to the various claims in the South China Sea could occur near Mischief Reef, a feature claimed by the Philippines and which was submerged at high tide before China began a dredging project to turn it into an island in 2014.”
News of the planned exercise comes a day after U.S. President Barack Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who sat right beside the President at a nuclear summit in Washington.
It’s a show a force that lets China know, after their repeated threats that disputed islands are Chinese territory, that America does not recognize this ridiculous and bombastic claim.
Question to our readers: Who do you think is in the right, China or the US?
