Freedom Of Navigation
The ability to move U.S. forces when and where they are needed depends upon unfettered access to the world’s oceans and international airspace. To ensure access as a matter of legal right, U.S. naval forces in 1997 conducted more than 20 operations to protest excessive maritime claims, in support of the President’s Freedom of Navigation Program. These assertions supported the U.S. foreign policy objective of adherence by all nations to the International Law of the Sea.
