SERENE SAILING This handout photo from the United States Navy shows Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) conducting routine underway operations in the Philippine Sea on June 24, 2022. US NAVY PHOTO VIA AP
BEIJING: The United States Navy on Wednesday sailed a destroyer close to China-controlled islands in the South China Sea in what Washington said was a patrol aimed at asserting freedom of navigation through the strategic seaway.