Source: World Wide Web
On January 5, the website of the US Department of Defense released the latest news on the activities of US warships in the South China Sea, and the US Navy's destroyer "Chafi" recently carried out flight operations and ammunition reloading training in the waters of the South China Sea. In addition, according to the information released by the relevant think tank platform, the satellite found a US warship in the waters south of the Paracel Islands on January 4, which speculated that it may be the destroyer "Chafi".
Messages posted on the DvidsHub website
DvidsHub, a website of the U.S. Department of Defense, announced on January 5 that the U.S. Navy's destroyer "Chafi" conducted training in the South China Sea on January 3 and 4, including take-off and landing operations of carrier-based helicopters, torpedo maintenance and loading training. The U.S. Navy also repeatedly said that the destroyer Chaffy is currently being deployed as planned in the U.S. Seventh Fleet territory and as a combat readiness force to "support the free and open Indo-Pacific region."
According to the news released by the "South China Sea Strategic Situational Awareness" program platform on January 5, on January 4, the "Sentinel" satellite found an "Ali Burke" class destroyer of the US Navy in the waters south of the Paracel Islands. Judging from the comprehensive open source information, the satellite may capture the "Chafi", and whether it will break into the 12 nautical miles of the Chinese island and reef needs to be closely watched.
Recently, US warships have made frequent small moves in the South China Sea. The destroyer CHAFI conducted a maritime replenishment operation in the South China Sea on December 29, 2020, provided by the USS John Erikson supply ship, and on December 30, 2020, the crew of the USS Chafi conducted equipment maintenance and fire training.
The littoral combat ship Tulsa was resupplied at sea in the South China Sea on December 23, 2020
In addition to the USS Chaffy destroyer, the USS Tulsa littoral combat ship has recently been active in the South China Sea. According to information released by the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the USS Tulsa conducted night take-off and landing training for carrier-based aircraft in the South China Sea on December 19, resupplyed at sea on December 23, 2020, and traveled from the South China Sea to the Philippine Sea through the San Bernardino Strait on the night of December 23.
On related issues such as the activities of US warships in the South China Sea, Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, once said that as a country outside the region, the US side ignores international law and the basic norms governing international relations, often flaunts force and provokes and stirs up trouble in the South China Sea under the guise of "freedom of navigation," constantly undermining the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, and has become a direct driver of tension in the South China Sea.
Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, also said that with the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the current situation in the South China Sea is generally stabilizing and improving. China respects the freedom of navigation enjoyed by ships of all countries in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, but resolutely opposes some countries sending warships from far and wide to brush up on their "sense of existence" for provocative purposes. The Chinese military will take all necessary measures to deal with it resolutely and effectively.