The United States Navy has challenged Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea by sailing its vessels into what China considers its territorial waters. These ‘Freedom of Navigation’ operations were first launched in 2017 and have gradually become more frequent and met with censure from Beijing.
CNN has published satellite imagery which appears to show that China has deployed fighter jets to the contested Woody Island in the Parcel Islands, in another apparent bid to assert its extensive maritime claims in the region.