{"id":17577,"date":"2019-03-18T16:26:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T16:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/18\/this-is-what-the-7th-fleets-sawyer-had-to-say-about-china\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:10:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:10:20","slug":"this-is-what-the-7th-fleets-sawyer-had-to-say-about-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/18\/this-is-what-the-7th-fleets-sawyer-had-to-say-about-china\/","title":{"rendered":"This is what the 7th Fleet\u2019s Sawyer had to say about China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MANILA, Philippines \u2014 The U.S. Navy won\u2019t alter its so-called \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d sail-bys in the disputed South China Sea<\/a> and has pressed ahead with such operations despite a dangerous maneuver by a Chinese navy ship<\/a> against an American destroyer, a senior U.S. Navy commander said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vice Adm. Phillip Sawyer<\/a>, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, told reporters in Manila that Washington protested that \u201cunprofessional behavior\u201d by the Chinese ship, which maneuvered very close to the guided-missile destroyer Decatur as the latter sailed closely by a Chinese-occupied island in the Spratlys <\/a>in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No, it’s not going to change where we do our freedom of navigation operations,” Sawyer said when asked if the Sept. 30 incident off Gaven Reef would change such U.S. Navy operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several such sail-bys have been undertaken by American naval ships since that close encounter in the disputed waters, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was concerning because the ships got too close,” Sawyer said, adding that U.S. officials have voiced “our displeasure with what we consider to be unprofessional behavior.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t