A new report from China's Ministry of Natural Resources’ China Institute for Marine Affairs claims the United States’ "freedom of navigation" concept distorts international law. Released on Monday, August 26, the study asserts that U.S. interpretations of customary international law are self-serving and inconsistent with global norms.

• The report is titled "Legal Assessment of the United States’ 'Freedom of Navigation'".
• Xu Heyun, deputy head of the China Institute for Marine Affairs, stated the U.S. concept "lacks a basis in international law and seriously distorts the interpretation and development of international law."
• Zhang Haiwen, a researcher who led the assessment, highlighted that the U.S. avoids being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to unilaterally interpret its provisions.
• The report follows an incident on August 13, where the U.S. destroyer USS Higgins allegedly illegally entered the territorial sea of China’s Huangyan Island.
• A Chinese think tank reported approximately 1,000 U.S. reconnaissance flights in the South China Sea in 2024.