US challenged China, others' maritime claims

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON

The U.S. military challenged 13 countries in 2015, including China, for claims in the South China Sea through "freedom of navigation" operations, according to a Pentagon report.

The operations were against China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, the Maldives, Oman, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nicaragua and Argentina, said the Pentagon’s Freedom of Navigation Annual report.

It reveals the operations included sending U.S. Navy ships and military aircraft into areas where other countries have tried to limit access to demonstrate that the U.S. is objecting to those restrictions.

The report, released late Monday, did not give the number of operations against each country but the Pentagon has repeatedly said its military is navigating areas where China has made maritime claims in recent years.

It signifies that in 2015, the U.S. military challenged Beijing's island-building activity in the resource rich South China Sea, which led to rising tensions in the region.

China's Defense Ministry said it was deeply concerned by such operations.

"The United States carries out militarization in the South China Sea in the name of freedom of navigation and over flight, threatens coastal nations' sovereignty and security and destroys regional peace and stability," the ministry said in a statement on its website.