Latest in USS Lassen
The past two FON operations in the South China Sea are models in how to squander flawless operational execution with confused, inconsistent, and ultimately damaging messaging.
Could a Philippines territorial sea be driving the confusion over the U.S. Navy's freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea?
The lack of clarity regarding what the U.S. Navy actually did in the South China Sea is a problem for U.S. foreign policy and for international law.
The US Navy conducted the weakest type of FONOP it could have chosen, limiting the operation to innocent passage, and potentially strengthening China’s sketchy territorial claims in the region.
The USS Lassen's maneuver in the South China Sea has been presented as a challenge to Chinese maritime claims and island-building operations. But in fact there are two quite distinct legal issues at play.
Yesterday, the USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, transited within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef---one of China’s artificial islands in the Spratly Island group. What precise legal message did the United States send with this operation?