The U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter says USS Lassen sailed through waters near Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. That’s according to a report from USNI News out on Tuesday. He was referring to the frigate’s patrol near China’s artificial islands last October, which caused tension between China and the US.
According to the report, Carter wrote a letter to Chair of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain in December, detailing the Lassen’s mission. Carter wrote that USS Lassen sailed within 12-nautical miles of the islands in a manner consistent with both the right of innocent passage and high seas freedom.
He wrote that the frigate sailed by five islands claimed by Mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines without notifying any of these nations prior to the mission.
The US has hinted that it will continue to send military ships to the South China Sea, though it has not yet made any official announcement.