Unchallenged passage of American warship shows freedom of navigation and flight still exists--DND Spokesperson

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 28): Unchallenged passage of American warship shows freedom of navigation and flight still exists--DND Spokesperson

The unchallenged passage of the USS Lassen, an American guided-missile destroyer, in the South China Sea shows freedom of navigation and flight still exists in the said area.

This was stressed by Department of National Defense (DND) spokesperson Dr. Peter Paul Galvez Wednesday.

"Freedom of navigation and flight is still secure in that part of the region," he said, adding that passage was made in international waters.

News reports earlier claimed that the USS Lassen made a passage 12 nautical miles off Chinese artificial islands in the Spratly Islands, albeit shadowed by two Chinese warships.

DND public affairs service chief Arsenio Andolong made a similar statement Tuesday.

(It is international waters), so any vessel (could) exercise freedom of navigation. That's all we have to say about it," he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=820526