Carter Confirms Naval Ops. Near Disputed Island

(27 Oct 2015) U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has acknowledged that the U.S. has conducted naval operations in the region of a disputed island in the South China Sea, but wouldn't going into specifics about news reports that a U.S. Navy warship sailed past one of China's artificial islands in the South China Sea on Tuesday. The move, a challenge to Chinese sovereignty claims, drew an angry protest from Beijing, which said the move damaged U.S.-China relations and regional peace. China's Foreign Ministry said authorities monitored and warned the USS Lassen as it entered what China claims as a 12-mile (21-kilometer) territorial limit around Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago, a group of reefs, islets, and atolls where the Philippines has competing claims. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...