China protests the latest mission of the US Navy in the South China Sea

China said it sent ships and planes to track US guided missile destroyer John S. McCain as it passed near China-controlled islands in the South China Sea.

The People’s Liberation Army accused the US warship of illegally entering Chinese territorial waters on Friday near the Paracel Islands, called Xisha by China, during the latest US Navy freedom of navigation missions aimed at challenging China’s vast claims on the strategic waterway.

The spokesman for the PLA Theater Southern Command Senior Colonel Zhang Nandong said Beijing demanded that the United States stop such actions, calling them “flagrant navigational hegemony and military provocation” that “seriously violated sovereignty and interests. security forces in China and seriously jeopardized peace and stability in southern China. ” Sea”.

“We urge the US side to immediately stop such provocative actions, strictly manage and control its maritime and air military operations so as not to cause any eventualities,” Zhang said according to the official Xinhua news agency.

China claims sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, which is also claimed in whole or in part by Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Frictions between China and Indonesia have also been increased by the activities of Chinese fishing vessels, the coast guard and the navy within the Indonesian exclusive economic zone.

China ignored a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated most of its territorial claims in the South China Sea, but has faced persistent pushback from the United States, its allies and China’s Southeast Asian neighbors over its moves to cement its control in the disputed area.

– AP