The Chinese military said it expelled a US destroyer from disputed waters in the South China Sea, a rare tense encounter between the world’s two most powerful militaries.
According to Independent, the American navy had deployed the destroyer USS Higgins and a smaller warship, USS Cincinnati, near the Scarborough Shoal after two Chinese ships collided while chasing away a Philippine vessel from the disputed fishing atoll.
It was the first known US military operation in at least six years near the atoll off northwestern Philippines.
The Southern Theatre Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army “organised forces to lawfully track, monitor, issue warnings, and expel the US warship, which entered the territorial waters near Huangyan Dao without authorisation from the Chinese government”, a military spokesperson said.
“The US move seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, severely undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
The US navy's Seventh Fleet responded that "China's statement about this mission is false”. It claimed that the US destroyer "asserted navigational rights and freedoms" near the atoll, “consistent with international law."
The US navy has for years conducted voyages and overflights in the South China Sea to challenge China’s requirement for entry notifications across almost the entire expanse of the waters disputed with its rival neighbours, mainly the Philippines.
Such military operations have angered Beijing and its forces have had close encounters with US warships and aircraft in international waters and airspace.
