Alwaght- China dispatched its naval forces and jet fighters to “warn off” a US warship that trespassed on Chinese territorial waters.
In a statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said “Under the pretext of ‘freedom of navigation,’ the US side once again sent a military vessel into China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands without China's approval.”
He added that such US behavior “violated Chinese law and relevant international law, infringed upon China's sovereignty, and disrupted the peace, security and order of the relevant waters.”
"China dispatched military vessels and fighter planes in response to warn off the US vessel," the statement added.
“The Chinese side is dissatisfied with, and opposed to, the relevant behavior of the US side,” Lu said, adding that the US is "deliberately stirring up troubles in the South China Sea, as well as running in the opposite direction from countries in the region who aspire for stability, cooperation and development.”
The senior Chinese diplomat added that The Xisha Islands in the South China Sea are an inherent part of the Chinese territory. “In accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, the Chinese government promulgated the baseline of the territorial sea off the Xisha Islands in 1996,” the statement noted.
The US Navy did not officially confirm the operation. The US Pacific Fleet spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, told reporters that the fleet conducts “routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future,” without specifically mentioning the Sunday incident.
However, an unidentified US Defense Department official earlier told Reuters that the US Navy destroyer USS Stethem came within 12 nautical miles of the disputed island, which is a part of the Paracel Islands located in the South China Sea.
The Paracel Islands are contested by China, Taiwan and Vietnam while the Spratlys are also additionally claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. China claims sovereignty over a large part of the South China Sea, a region crucial for China’s maritime trade.
China says it won't allow the US and to keep encroaching on its interests on its doorstep and interfering in regional stability.
