US sends latest warship to patrol the East Sea

The USS Milwaukee, the US Navy's newest littoral combat ship, was ordered to the South China Sea over the weekend to join patrol operations.

US Navy Rear Admiral Brian Antonio, commanding officer of littoral combat ships, confirmed this information, after revealing that the USS Fort Worth, a warship of the same class as the Milwaukee, was on a mission in the East Sea, according to AP.

The warship Milwaukee arrives in the South China Sea for patrol. Photo: US Navy

This was Milwaukee's first mission. With two gas turbine engines combined with two diesel engines and four water jet engines generating a total capacity of up to 113,710 horsepower, the ship reached a maximum speed of more than 83 km/h, with a range of 3,000 nautical miles.

The US guided-missile destroyer Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of China’s artificial islands in the Spratly Islands late last month, the first such US patrol since China began building the islands in late 2013, prompting a response from Beijing.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin yesterday brazenly said that the country will continue to build military facilities on artificial islands, while criticizing the US for "political provocation" when he came to Malaysia to attend meetings between ASEAN and its partners. Mr. Liu justified that the facilities are "necessary to protect" the artificial islands.

After announcing the absurd nine-dash line, Beijing has reclaimed and built on at least seven reefs under Vietnam’s sovereignty in the Truong Sa archipelago. Vietnam has repeatedly requested China to stop these illegal activities.

According to VNE