China claims that the United States had invaded U.S. waters. The United States denies this. On Thursday, a warship entered illegally into the South China Sea and was forced to leave.
China’s military stated that the U.S.S. Milius, a guided-missile destroyer, had “illegally entered into China’s Xisha territory waters without the approval from the Chinese government.”
Chinese forces observed, warned and drove the vessel away, Tian Junli (a spokesperson for China’s Southern Theatre Command) said in a statement on Thursday.
He said that the U.S. was “threatening peace and stability in the South China Sea region” as well as that Beijing’s forces would always be “in a high state-of-preparation and take all measures necessary to defend national sovereignty, security, and peace and stabilization” in the area.
The Chinese statement was quickly rebutted by the American military.
“The U.S.S. Milius was not expelled as he is performing routine operations in South China Sea. According to Reuters, the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet stated in a statement that it will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international laws allow.”
The disputed archipelago of coral islands and reefs in South China, the Xisha Islands (also known as the Paracel Islands or the Hoang Sa Archipelago) is also called the Paracel Islands.
The Paracel islands, which China considers part of Hainan province, pictured in 2018. Several nations lay claim to the disputed South China Sea region.
AFP via Getty Images file
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the Chinese position that an American vessel had entered its waters. It called on the United States to “stop such provocations”
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China, stated that China will take all necessary steps to protect its sovereignty and security as well as uphold peace in the South China Sea.
For years, geopolitical tensions in this strategically important waterway have been high. There have been frequent flashpoints among the two largest economies of the world.
In July 2021 China charged another American warship with violating its territorial waters. The U.S.S. Benfold was accused of entering the waters it considers to be its territory near the Paracel Islands.
NBC News was aboard a U.S. Patrol plane last month when a Chinese fighter jet flew alongside 500ft away for over an hour.
China, the country with the largest navy in the world, claims sovereignty over the majority of the South China Sea, despite an important 2016 international tribunal ruling that their claims are without legal basis. This has caused a host of territorial disputes between China and other countries in the region.
Many of China’s neighbours and the U.S. accuse Beijing of using “gray zones” tactics that aren’t legal acts of war to inflict more control on other countries. The U.S. responds by regularly conducting “freedom of navigation” operations and other operations in international water and airspace.
The U.S.S. The U.S.S. Milius was named after Captain Paul L. Milius who was an American airman whose plane was believed to have been destroyed over Laos during Vietnam War 1968.
According to the U.S., the ship can simultaneously conduct anti-air, surface, and strike warfare. Navy website.
Jennifer Jett, Eric Baculinao, and Jace Zhang all contributed.
