Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any vessels of the Royal Navy or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have exercised or sought to exercise freedom of navigation or passage rights in disputed areas of the South China Sea claimed by the government of the People’s Republic of China since 2010.

Penny Mordaunt

No Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have exercised Freedom of Navigation in disputed areas of the South China Sea since 2010.

The UK strongly asserts its right, and supports the right of all States, to exercise Freedom of Navigation in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.