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2w ago

U.S. Warships Conduct First Scarborough Shoal FONOP Since 2019 as China Claims to Have Expelled Them

The operation tested Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims after a rare collision between two Chinese vessels blocking a Philippine patrol boat.

USS Higgins (DDG 76) conducts a FONOP near Scarborough Shoal. PCG photo
U.S. Marines and contractors, assigned to the Special Missions Branch, III Expeditionary Operations Training Group prepare to board the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), during a visit, board, search and seizure exercise in the Philippine Sea, Okinawa, Japan, April 24, 2025. VBSS is part of the maritime interception operations that aim to delay, disrupt, or destroy enemy forces or supplies in the maritime domain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kira Ducato)

Overview

  • USS Higgins and USS Cincinnati deployed roughly 30 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal to uphold treaty commitments and defend freedom of navigation.
  • Higgins carried out the first U.S. Navy freedom-of-navigation operation at Scarborough Shoal since 2019 to challenge Beijing’s “excessive claims area.”
  • China’s Southern Theater Command said its forces expelled USS Higgins for infringing on sovereignty, a claim the U.S. 7th Fleet dismissed as false.
  • Earlier this week, a Chinese coast guard cutter’s water-cannon blasts at the Philippine patrol boat BRP Suluan preceded a collision with a Chinese navy destroyer during an interception attempt.
  • Japan, Australia and New Zealand expressed alarm over the escalations and urged restraint and respect for international law.