Tag: Freedom of Navigation

In President Aquino’s talk with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines last Tuesday, about a third of the questions were about the challenge of the United States to China’s claim of sovereignty on the surrounding waters of its artificially-created islands in Spratlys in the South China Sea, which the Philippines also claims.

At the time of the FOCAP Forum, the U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen was sailing through within 12 nautical mile from Subi Reef’s man-made shores, according to reports by the U.S Navy.

The news reports which was known later, after the forum with the President, also sailed through Mischief Reef, occupied by the Chinese in 1994.

It is significant to note that Mischief Reef and Subi Reef are the nearest to Philippine shores of the eight features in the Spratlys occupied by the Chinese. Subi Reef is 26 kilometers away from Philippine–occupied island Pag-asa.