A United States destroyer that sailed in the vicinity waters off Spratly Islands recently did not violate any Philippine laws as it was only exercising freedom of navigation operations (FONOP) allowed in international law, according to the Philippine Navy (PN).
Martin SadongdongArleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble and embarked Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 51 sailors conduct operations while underway in the Philippine Sea, Nov. 30, 2024.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea , said freedom of navigation is allowed under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , a legal framework that governs all activities in the world's oceans and seas. The situation is different if another state's vessel passes through a coastal state's 12-nautical mile territorial sea which will require them to seek permission from appropriate authorities.
The Philippines’ claims in the Spratly Islands, a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, include the northeast section of the islands but these overlap with the claims of several other nations such as China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
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