The United States Navy defied China's unlawful claims to control the bulk of the South China Sea with activities consistent with a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP).
Message sent to China and anyone else who claims that area as their own:
The Abraham Lincoln, which deployed to the Indo-Pacific from its homeport of San Diego on Nov. 24, has been in the South China Sea since at least Dec. 26, according to photos posted to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website.
Since then, the carrier has kept busy with flight operations, replenishments-at-sea, damage control training and explosive ordinance disposal drills. Its escort ships, which include the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance, have also participated.
This is not a provocation. Carrying out routine military activities in waters unlawfully claimed by China must be done to distinguish the ship's presence from "innocent passage" that does not challenge Chinese claims to own that part of the sea.
Innocent passage concedes control to the other state and essentially involves buttoning up and quietly moving through the sea area when necessary in a straight path without delay.
China knows the difference between a FONOP and innocent passage when they see it, although it is possible to be unnecessarily less clear about the distinction.
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NOTE: Image from the article.
