Why Chinese claim of ousting USS Higgins doesn’t hold water ?

August 15, 2025, 9:03 pm

🚀 A spokesperson for China’s military stated that the People’s Liberation Army had driven away the American warships—a claim China routinely makes following U.S. freedom of navigation operations (FONOP) in the region.
Senior Capt. He Tiecheng, the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command spokesperson, referring to the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal, said in a statement, “On August 13, the U.S. Navy’s destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76) entered the territorial waters of China’s Huangyan Dao without authorization from Chinese government. The Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command sent its naval troops to track, monitor, warn, and expel the U.S. Navy vessel in accordance with laws and regulations.”

A spokesperson for U.S. 7th Fleet disputed this and stated,
“China’s statement about this mission is false. USS Higgins conducted this FONOP in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations. The operation reflects our commitment to uphold the freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the sea as a principle. The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us.”

In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why Chinese claim of ousting USS Higgins doesn’t hold water ?

#defenseupdates #usshiggins #usvschina

Chapters:
0:00 TITLE
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:37 SPONSORSHIP – NordVPN
02:11 BACKGROUND
04:11 USS HIGGINS
06:09 ANALYSIS

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