China’s military said Friday it had issued a warning to a U.S. Navy destroyer in the disputed South China Sea.
The USS Halsey was sailing near the Paracel Islands at the time of the encounter.
A Chinese military spokesperson said, “We have organized our navy and air force to follow and monitor the ship in accordance with the law, and issued a warning to drive it away.”
“The United States’ actions seriously violate China’s sovereignty and security,” he said.
The People’s Liberation Army accused the United States of being a “creator of security risks” and said the incident was “iron proof of the United States’ maritime hegemony and militarization of the South China Sea.”
US condemns China’s ‘illegal’ maritime claims
The US Navy confirmed that the aircraft carrier USS Halsey “asserted the right and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.”
“After the operation ended, the aircraft carrier Halsey ceased its over-assertion and continued operations in the South China Sea,” the report said.
“Illegal and extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to freedom of the seas,” it added.
China claims wide swaths of the South China Sea, including some areas claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that the Chinese government’s claims had no basis under international law.
China and the Philippines have diplomatic issues
The incident came after an escalation in a maritime standoff between China and the Philippines, which counts the United States as a key ally.
On Friday, the Philippines’ national security adviser called for the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Philippine admiral.
Eduardo Ano said in a statement that the Chinese embassy in Manila orchestrated “repeated acts of engaging in and disseminating disinformation, disinformation and malicious information.”
In response, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the Philippines of “denying the facts.”
zc/rc (Reuters, AFP)
