WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, China accused the United States of threatening the country’s security, when Washington sailed the USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands.
“It’s about our own national security interests in that part of the world,” Kirby told reporters. “Five of seven of our treaty alliances are in the Pacific so we have serious commitments.”
Asked about State Department reaction to Chinese warnings that the move could lead to a war between the two nations if continually repeated, Kirby said “I've seen the comments, we disagree.”
Kirby, a retired US Navy rear admiral, claimed the USS Lassen was only routinely exercising its right of passage in an international waterway.
“Operations in international waters are just that. They are operating in international waters…Freedom of the seas needs to be protected,” he said.
In response to the incident, China’s state-controlled Global Times newspaper warned in an editorial published on Wednesday that Beijing is “not afraid to fight a war” with the United States.
