FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION OPERATIONS

U.S. Freedom of Navigation Operations in 2013 targeted China, Iran

BY DAVID ALEXANDER

WASHINGTON Thu Mar 6, 2014 12:09am EST

Nimitz Carrier Task Force (Photo U.S. Navy)

Editor's Note 1/9/2015: We didn't hear much on such operations in 2014 and clearly this is a naval activity that becomes more difficult to provide as the fleet continues to shrink and troubled areas continue to proliferate. This is a post worth revisiting periodically.

We highly recommend this article published in Reuters

EDITOR's NOTE: Freedom of navigation operations are the deliberate transit of illegally claimed territorial waters by naval forces to demonstrate non recognition of such claims. China is the most blatant example of such claims in the world but even the Philippines has hedged its boundaries outside of the UNCLOS guidelines in a few small areas. Last Year the United States even thumped its nose at such claims  by close allies. Freedom of navigation must be preserved. We are not the only nation on earth that follows this practice but the number is small and dwindling. Our naval forces are being stretched thin and may not be able to keep up as much of this activity in the near future as is really needed. Reuters recently carried a detailed article about the 2013 patrols. Below is a lead in and a link to the full story.

(Reuters) - "The U.S. military carried out freedom of navigation operations challenging the maritime claims of China, Iran and 10 other countries last year, asserting its transit rights in defiance of efforts to restrict passage, a Pentagon report said on Thursday.

The Defense Department's annual Freedom of Navigation Report to Congress for the 2013 fiscal year showed the U.S. military targeted not only countries such as Iran, with whom it has no formal relations, but treaty allies such as the Philippines, too." READ MORE

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