The guided-missile destroyer USS Preble steams through the South China Sea on Dec. 5, 2024. (Ryre Arciaga/U.S. Navy)
A U.S. Navy warship on Friday sailed close to disputed islands militarized by Beijing and other nations in the South China Sea, the service announced soon after the freedom-of-navigation operation.
The USS Preble steamed within 12 nautical miles of Swallow Reef in the Spratlys, according to Lt. Cmdr. Jamie Moroney, a spokesman for the U.S. 7th Fleet. The chain of about 100 islets and reefs is about 800 miles south of mainland China, 560 miles east of Vietnam and 206 miles west of the Palawan in the Philippines.
“These operations are designed to normalize adherence to the provisions under the Law of the Sea Convention, and uphold related navigational rights and freedoms,” Moroney told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. “To that end, they are planned well in advance, reviewed for compliance with international law and carried out in a safe and professional manner. They are not driven by current events.”
The Spratlys are entirely claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. Beijing, however, maintains about seven outposts there, according to the CIA’s World Factbook website. Three of those spots — Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi reefs — house military bases. The Malaysian navy maintains a presence on Swallow Reef.
Moroney said the Preble had no interactions with foreign forces during its passage.
The Preble returned to duty with the 7th Fleet in mid-October outfitted with a high-energy laser for testing at sea. The 60-kilowatt HELIOS system can “dazzle,” or blind or impair sensors aboard surveillance drones, or punch a hole through drones, low-flying aircraft and, in some cases, missiles, according to Lockheed Martin, its maker
The Navy routinely operates near the Spratlys and the Paracels, another contested island chain in the South China Sea, to protest restrictions on innocent passage. In the Spratlys, all three claimants require either permission or advance notice before a military vessel travels through the area.
The Spratlys are partially claimed by a handful of other countries, including the Philippines, which occupies nine features there, according to the CIA factbook. Among those are Sabina and Second Thomas shoals, the sites of frequent clashes between China and the Philippines.
Beijing lays claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, including maritime territory inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
