US denies China’s claim of expelling USS Higgins from Scarborough

‘FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION’ OPS The USS Higgins is one of the two American Navy vessels operating some 56 kilometers (30 nautical miles) off Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal on Wednesday, according to the Philippine Coast Guard, which released this photo.

MANILA, Philippines — The United States Navy on Thursday denied Chinese claims that it warned and expelled the guided missile destroyer USS Higgins during its mission off Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

Commander Megan Greene, spokesperson for the U.S. 7th Fleet, told the Inquirer that nothing untoward happened during its mission on Wednesday, two days after the collision between Chinese ships in the area.

READ: Chinese ships collide off Scarborough Shoal; PH Coast Guard offers aid

Greene was reacting to remarks by Senior Captain He Tiecheng, spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command, who said the Chinese military “mobilized forces to monitor, issue warnings, and expel” the Higgins.

“China’s statement about this mission is false,” Greene said in an email interview.

READ: 2 US warships deployed off Scarborough Shoal days after Chinese collision

Greene said the Higgins conducted its freedom of navigation operations “in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations.”

“At the conclusion of the operation, Higgins exited the excessive claim area and continued operations in the South China Sea,” she added.

Aside from the Higgins, the littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati was also monitored conducting a freedom of navigation operation about 30 nautical miles from the shoal, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

China rejects the right to freedom of navigation in Panatag Shoal, deeming it part of its territorial waters—a claim effectively dismissed by the 2016 Arbitral Award.

Instead, China enforces what experts have termed an “exclusion zone” around the atoll, flouting the landmark arbitral ruling that declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

Greene said the mission affirms Washington’s continued rejection of “unlawful restrictions” imposed by Beijing.

“The United States is defending its right to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here,” she said. “Nothing China says otherwise will deter us.” /jpv