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China says it warned of a US guided-missile destroyer in the South China Sea that was deployed in the disputed waters after a Chinese missile launch in the latest in a series of escalating tensions in the region.
The Chinese military said the destroyer sailed into “China’s territorial waters” near the islands, named Xisha by China, and the PLA’s Southern Theater Command had dispatched naval and air forces and “ejected” the US Navy ship. .
“China has unquestionable sovereignty over the islands of the South China Sea and its adjacent waters in the region, and command troops are always on high alert to resolutely protect national sovereignty and safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea region. of South China, ”PLA spokesman Senior Colonel Li Huamin said early Friday.
According to a statement from the US Pacific Fleet, the USS Mustin (DDG-89) set sail for “the vicinity of the Paracel Islands” on Thursday “to challenge excessive maritime claims and enforce the laws of the sea in international waters.” The deployment was also intended to “ensure that critical shipping routes in the area remain free and open,” he said.
South China Sea: the dispute that could start a military conflict
China has been conducting military drills almost simultaneously in four maritime regions, a rare move that experts consider designed to indicate its readiness to handle a confrontation with the United States and self-governing Taiwan. An exercise has been conducted east of southern China’s Hainan Island Province, which has been restricted to non-military access from Monday to Saturday.
At the same time, the United States has also stepped up its military presence, conducting drills with Japan and South Korea in the past two weeks.
Taiwan and Asean member states, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, have competing claims in resource-rich waters, while China claims nearly the entire region. The United States has no territorial interest in the disputed waters, but has deployed warships and aircraft that it says are intended to promote freedom of navigation.
Washington last month called China’s claims about the waterway, which is used to move $ 3 trillion of international trade each year, as “illegal,” citing a 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
The United States has repeatedly said that US forces will continue to operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis, as they have for more than a century.
The US Department of Defense said Thursday that China’s missile launches threaten peace and security in the region. Beijing’s “actions, including missile tests, further destabilize the situation in the South China Sea,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
This article Beijing claims that it warned an American destroyer in the South China Sea after a missile launch first appeared in the South China Morning Post.
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