New naval incident in the South China Sea: Beijing accuses the US of “gravely violating China’s sovereignty and security”

The Chinese military closely monitored and “repelled” the USS Halsey that entered the territorial waters of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on May 10, the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command said in a statement on Friday. Reuters and AFP, taken over by news.ro.

The American maneuver “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security”, says the Beijing army.

“It is yet another undeniable proof of its maritime hegemony and militarization of the South China Sea,” she said, adding that her troops would remain on high alert and protect national security.

Beijing “ordered the naval and air forces to track and monitor the ship in accordance with laws and regulations and issued a warning to make it leave,” Chinese military spokesman Tian Junli said, quoted by AFP.

For its part, the US Navy stated in a statement that the destroyer asserted its rights and freedoms of navigation in the South China Sea, near the Paracel Islands, “in accordance with international law.”

The USS Halsey left the area after this operation and continued its course through the South China Sea, the statement said.

The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet had previously announced that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey conducted a “routine transit” of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, “through waters where freedoms of navigation and overflight apply, in compliance with international law”. This move had also been denounced by the Chinese military, which said it was a “public unrest”, stating that it had sent naval and air forces to monitor and warn the US ship throughout its passage, “in accordance with the law and regulations “.

“Troops in the theater of operations are always on alert and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability,” the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army said in a statement.

The latest dispute between China and the US comes amid heightened tensions in the strategic South China Sea, with US ally the Philippines embroiled in a bitter diplomatic row with Beijing over disputed waters in the region. China claims large portions of the South China Sea, including parts also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Beijing’s claims had no basis in international law.

Publisher: ML

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