The US Navy destroyer, John S. McCain, had no right to enter Russian waters and thus the freedom of navigation principle is not applicable in this incident, Mikhail Nenashev, the chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement public organization, told Sputnik on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) The US Navy destroyer, John S. McCain, had no right to enter Russian waters and thus the freedom of navigation principle is not applicable in this incident, Mikhail Nenashev, the chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement public organization, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the US destroyer went 1.2 miles beyond the Russian borderline in the Peter the Great Gulf in Russia's Primorsky Territory, while the US Navy has said that John S. McCain was conducting a "freedom of navigation" operation near Russia. According to the Russian ministry, its Pacific Fleet's large anti-submarine ship, Admiral Vinogradov, issued a warning to the John S. McCain crew, after which the vessel left for neutral waters.
"When the US [authorities] say that they only implement the principle of freedom of navigation, they are lying. Firstly, the Peter the Great Gulf is considered a historic bay [of Russia], and the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea contains this term. The principle of freedom of navigation is established by this convention. And the US did not sign it. If you are outside of this agreement, then what laws and agreements can you refer to?" Nenashev said.
According to the NGO's head, the convention states that waters in the gulf between the shores of a country that go beyond the boundaries of a 12-miles zone are recognized as this country's historical waters. Nenashev added that even Japan, where the John S. McCain is based, had previously recognized the historical status of the Peter the Great Gulf prior to 1957.
The All-Russian Fleet Support Movement's chairman drew parallels with Bristol Bay, the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, which the United States considers as internal waters and prevents foreign ships from illegally entering it.
