Here's How China and America's Missiles in the South China Sea Stack Up

The U.S. Navy frequently sails warships through international waters near these fortified islands in order to assert its rights to navigate open waters. These "freedom-of-navigation operations," or FONOPs, often draw harsh condemnation from Beijing.The Chinese military lobbed anti-ship ballistic missiles into the South China Sea in tests in early July 2019.The missile trials underscored Beijing’s increasing militarization of resource-rich waters on which several countries have conflicting claims.“The Chinese carried out the first test over the weekend, firing off at least one missile into the sea,” NBC News reported on July 1, 2019, citing a U.S. official with knowledge of the test.“The window for testing remains open until July 3, and the official expects the Chinese military to test again before it closes.”(This first appeared earlier in July 2019.)No U.S. Navy vessels were in the area when the missile or missiles splashed down, NBC News reported. Still, the official described the event as "concerning."China in recent years has occupied several disputed islands in the China Seas, dredged their endangered coral reefs and built atop them sprawling airfields and barracks and installations for cruise missiles and air-defense systems.The U.S. Navy frequently sails warships through international waters near these fortified islands in order to assert its rights to navigate open waters. These "freedom-of-navigation operations," or FONOPs, often draw harsh condemnation from Beijing.

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