BEIJING – China’s Defense Ministry protested against what it called”provocation” after US warships sailed near South China Sea islands claimedby Beijing.
China’s Defence Ministry said in a statement later on Sunday that the move”contravened Chinese and relevant international law, seriously infringedupon Chinese sovereignty (and) harmed strategic mutual trust between thetwo militaries”, Al-Jazeera reported.
It also added that it had deployed ships and aircraft to warn the USwarships to leave, stating that they had entered the country’s territorialwaters without permission.
In a separate statement, China’s Foreign Ministry urged Washington to stopsuch actions, adding that “China will continue to take all necessarymeasures to defend the country’s sovereignty and security”.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters newsagency that two military vessels came within 12 nautical miles (around22km) of the disputed Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs andshoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbours.
The Higgins guided-missile destroyer and the Antietam, a guided-missilecruiser, carried out manoeuvering operations near Tree, Lincoln, Triton andWoody islands in the Paracels, one of the officials said.
China is pitted against smaller neighbours in multiple disputes in theSouth China Sea over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial forglobal trade and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves.
It has begun building military structures on disputed islands – much to thedismay of other Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines,Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The incident on Sunday came on the heels of a string of events thathighlight tension between the world’s two biggest economies over the SouthChina Sea’s disputed waters.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon withdrew an invitation to China to participatein the world’s largest multinational maritime exercise in a move theChinese defence ministry called “not constructive”.
The Pentagon said its decision was “an initial response to China’scontinued militarisation of the South China Sea”.
Earlier this month, China’s air force landed long-range military aircrafton Woody Island, marking the first time a strategic bomber landed on anisland in the South China Sea.