The United States Navy on Wednesday sailed a destroyer close to China-controlled islands in the South China Sea in what Washington said was a patrol aimed at asserting freedom of navigation through the strategic seaway. The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed past the Paracel Islands and continued thereafter with operations in the South China Sea. The operation “upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea,” the US 7th Fleet said in a news release.

US destroyer inflames South China Sea row. (2022, July 14). The Manila Times, p. B8.