Hong Kong (CNN) A US Navy warship sailed by islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Wednesday, the second such sailing in as many weeks, as the Biden administration steps up the US' military presence in the disputed waters. In a so-called freedom of navigation operation, the guided-missile destroyer USS Russell steamed within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands in the southern portion of the 1.3 million square mile waterway, almost all of which China claims as its sovereign territory. US sailors stand watch at the helm on the bridge as the guided-missile destroyer USS Russell. The warship is deployed to the US 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines also have claims in the Spratly chain, where China has has transformed obscure reefs and sandbars into man-made artificial islands, fortified with missiles, runways and weapons systems.

Source: CNN February 17, 2021 06:56 UTC