U.S. Destroyer Performs South China Sea FONOP

A U.S. destroyer performed a freedom of navigation operation in the Spratly Islands on Friday, U.S. 7th Fleet announced. USS Preble (DDG-88) sailed within 12 nautical miles of Swallow Reef, a Navy official told USNI News. “The [People’s Republic of China], Vietnam and Taiwan each purport to require, in violation of international law, either permission or advance notification before a military vessel or warship engages in ‘innocent passage’ through their territorial sea,” reads a statement from 7th Fleet. “The unilateral imposition of any authorization or advance-notification requirement for innocent passage is unlawful. By engaging in innocent passage without giving prior