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Newsweek
2 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
China Releases Footage of Encounter with US Warship
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China's state media has released footage it says shows the People's Liberation Army Navy challenging a U.S. warship near a contested South China Sea feature. On the morning of August 13, the USS Higgins conducted a so-called freedom-of-navigation operation (FONOP) near Scarborough Shoal, a flashpoint in China's dispute with U.S. treaty ally the Philippines. Beijing said its forces "expelled" the Arleigh Burke–class destroyer—a claim the U.S. Seventh Fleet dismissed as "false." Why It Matters Since 1979, the U.S. Navy has routinely sent ships and aircraft to challenge what Washington deems excessive maritime claims. Scarborough Shoal lies roughly 140 miles west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, well within the the country's maritime zone, and about 700 miles from China's Hainan Island. Beijing asserts sovereignty over the uninhabited atoll, as it does most of the South China Sea. Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese defense ministry and Philippine coast guard with a written request for commment. What To Know Media Unlocked, a social media brand operated by the state-run China Daily, released footage that appears to show the encounter. A Chinese ship, identifying itself as the Type 054A frigate Liuzhou (573), radioed that the USS Higgins had "illegally entered the territorial waters of Huangyan Island" (China's name for Scarborough Shoal) and ordered it to "alter your course and leave immediately." Media Unlocked said the Higgins remained in "territorial waters" for about 90 minutes before the PLA Navy "drove it out." "Same old U.S. playbook: provoke, then retreat," Media Unlocked wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins is seen in the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 2024. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins is seen in the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 2024. Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lucas J. Hastings/U.S. Navy The encounter took place two days after a Chinese navy destroyer and coast guard ship collided while attempting to drive away a smaller Philippine coast guard cutter near Scarborough Shoal. The bow of the Chinese coast guard vessel was severely damaged. The episode, considered highly embarrassing for Beijing, was the latest in a series of dramatic confrontations between China and the Philippines since 2023. Under international law, a territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles (about 13.8 miles) from coastlines and high-tide features such as Scarborough Shoal. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal rejected China's sweeping South China Sea claims but did not rule on sovereignty over the shoal, though it recognized its importance as a traditional fishing ground for both Filipino and Chinese fishing vessels. What People Are Saying Commander Matthew Comer, Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson, told Newsweek: "China's statement about this mission is false. USS Higgins (DDG 76) conducted this FONOP in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations. "The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us." Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., previously told Newsweek that China firmly opposes "willful trespassing" and "any country conducting unlawful provocations in the name of 'freedom of navigation' to harm the sovereignty and security of coastal countries and undermine regional peace and stability." What's Next China is expected continue patrols and other activities within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed not to yield "one square inch" of Manila-claimed waters.
Newsweek
13-08-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Navy Ship 'Expelled' From Disputed Waters, China's Military Says
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China's military says it drove U.S. Navy destroyer the USS Higgins from waters near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Wednesday morning. Two days ago, a collision occurred between Chinese ships seeking to disrupt a Philippine Goast Guard mission at the disputed feature. Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Seventh Fleet and the Chinese Foreign Ministry via emailed requests for comment. Why It Matters China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, home to overlapping claims by the Philippines and several other states. Scarborough Shoal, one of the most hotly contested features in China's territorial dispute with the Philippines, sits within the U.S. treaty ally's exclusive economic zone. While China effectively seized control of waters around the atoll in 2012, the Philippines has since 2024 increased its patrols there to assert its claim and deliver supplies to local fishermen. Clashes at Scarborough and other South China Sea flashpoints have raised questions over whether a miscalculation could trigger Manila's Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington—and potentially a conflict between the two superpowers. What To Know In a statement posted to Chinese social media, the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command said the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins had "illegally intruded" into the territorial sea around Scarborough Shoal, calling it a serious violation of China's sovereignty and security. The command "deployed forces and monitored and expelled it in accordance with law and regulations," the statement added. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) pulls away from Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) after conducting a fueling-at-sea while underway in the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 2024. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) pulls away from Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) after conducting a fueling-at-sea while underway in the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 2024. Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lucas J. Hastings/U.S. Navy A territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles (about 13.8 miles) from coastlines and high-tide features such as Scarborough Shoal. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal rejected China's expansive South China Sea claims. The tribunal did not rule on sovereignty over the shoal; it recognized traditional fishing rights for Filipino and Chinese fishermen at Scarborough. The U.S. Navy had not released any information on the alleged patrol near Scarborough Shoal as of time of writing. The Navy frequently deploys sea and air assets in international waters to challenge claims that Washington believes infringe on the freedom of navigation. China maintains patrols by the U.S. and other Western militaries in the region threaten peace and stability. During Monday's confrontation, a China Coast Guard ship slammed into a Chinese Type 052 destroyer while pursuing a smaller Philippine Coast Guard patrol boat that was part of a government mission to deliver food and fuel to fishermen. Footage shows the collision severely damaging the coast guard cutter's bow. Ship-tracking data shared by the maritime analysis group SeaLight showed Chinese vessels on Tuesday sailing in a grid-like pattern consistent with search-and-rescue operations—suggesting personnel may have been thrown overboard by the impact. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the Philippines had "seriously harmed peace and stability at sea." What People Are Saying The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs wrote in a statement: "The Department is seriously concerned by the dangerous maneuvers of two vessels of the People's Liberation Army Navy and the Chinese Coast Guard and their unlawful interference with a routine humanitarian operation for Filipino fisherfolk in and around the territorial sea of Bajo de Masinloc, which is a longstanding and integral part of Philippine territory." Bajo de Masinloc is the Philippines' name for Scarborough Shoal. In China, it's known as Huangyan Island. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, wrote in a statement this week: "China's campaign to dominate the South China Sea by force threatens stability, peace, and prosperity across the Indo-Pacific, as the Philippines and other nations defend their legitimate interests. Beijing must comply with international law and immediately end its coercive maritime actions." What's Next The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it would lodge a diplomatic protest against China over its actions at Scarborough Shoal.
