A U.S. warship went near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, prompting a furious response from China, which stated that its navy had "repelled" the ship after it unlawfully entered its waters.
Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of a decision by an international tribunal that invalidated China's expansive claims to the South China Sea, a passageway for over $3 trillion in annual ship-borne trade.
Regularly, the United States conducts what it terms Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea, disputing what it deems to be limitations on innocent passage imposed by China and other claimants.
China asserts that it does not limit freedom of navigation or overflight and accuses the U.S. of raising tensions on purpose.
The People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command stated that the U.S. ship's unauthorized entry into Chinese territorial seas around the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, violated China's sovereignty and security.
It continued, displaying images of the Benfold destroyer obtained from the deck of the Chinese frigate the Xianning, "The PLA's Southern Theatre Command organized maritime and air troops to pursue, monitor, warn, and drive away" the ship.
"Once again, the facts demonstrate that the U.S. is nothing less than a 'security risk creator in the South China Sea' and a 'destroyer of regional peace and stability.'"
The U.S. Navy stated that the Chinese statement regarding the mission was "false" and the latest in a long line of Chinese actions to "misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime operations and assert its excessive and illegitimate maritime claims at the expense of its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea."
The U.S. defends the right of all nations to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law permits, and nothing China "says to the contrary will deter us," the statement continued.
In 1974, China captured the Paracel Islands from the then-South Vietnamese government.
In a subsequent statement released later on Wednesday, the U.S. Navy confirmed that the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group was also operating in the South China Sea, describing these operations as "normal."
In addition, the carrier group is undertaking maritime security activities, including flying operations, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training involving surface and air forces.
