"USS Milius is conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and was not expelled," a spokesperson for the US 7th Fleet told reporters. "The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows."
Washington's 'Zero-Sum Mentality'
Since 2018, the US has oriented its foreign policy strategy around the idea that China and Russia are threats to the US-led global order, which Washington terms the "rules-based international order." It claims such " "FONOPS" are enforcing those rules, but the rules in question in the South China Sea dispute - the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - are from a document the US has officially refused to sign.
"China and the Philippines are close neighbors. We hope and believe that this round of consultation will help enhance mutual understanding and trust and bring about closer communication and coordination between the two sides, and galvanize joint efforts for the sound and steady growth of bilateral ties," a ministry spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.