In March 2015, the former Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Harry Harris, while giving a speech in Australia, dismissed the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) building of seven artificial islands in the South China Sea (SCS) as nothing more than a “Great Wall of Sand” that would not alter the U.S. Navy’s freedom of navigation operations or American deterrence capabilities in the region.
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At least two Chinese surveillance ships kept a close eye on U.S. Navy ships conducting military drills just outside of Philippine territorial waters in the South China Sea, according to media reports Monday.
U.S., Philippine and French warships initially set off from Puerto Princesa, the Philippines, on Thursday to complete the maritime component of the Balikatan 2024 military exercises, U.S. Naval Institute News reported. Once they entered international waters of the South China Sea to which Beijing has laid claim on Saturday, two People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships were spotted stalking the multilateral formation within a few nautical miles, multiple outlets reported.
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