The United States Navy conducted its first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) under the new Biden administration on February 5. A U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs release said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) carried out a FONOP near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea in order to uphold the right of innocent passage, including for naval vessels. According to the press release, the McCain’s FONOP was also designed to challenge China’s 1996 declaration of straight baselines around the islands in contravention to Article 7 of the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It said, “Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the sea, including freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for the South China Sea littoral nations.” It added that “By engaging in the innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants, the United States challenged these unlawful restrictions imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The United States demonstrated that innocent passage may not be subject to such restrictions,” it said by way of explaining one of the two objectives behind the FONOP". Meanwhile, the Global Times publicised the statement of the spokesperson of the PLA Southern Theater Command Air Force Colonel Tian Junli on February 5, that the Southern Theater Command organised its naval and air forces to track, monitor and warn the USS McCain guided-missile destroyer and drive it away. It said the US Destroyer did not pass into China's Xisha territorial waters without authorization.
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