China’s air and naval forces acted in accordance with laws protecting territorial waters and “forced the release” of the US destroyer, Beijing said.
The American destroyer USS Hopper allegedly entered China’s “territorial waters” without proper permission. This was announced yesterday by the Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of China.
“The guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper illegally entered China’s territorial waters off the Xisha Islands on Saturday without permission from the Chinese government,” said Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army Southern Operations Command, in a statement.
According to him, the air and naval forces of the operational command were sent to monitor the actions of the American ship, monitor and warn, acting in accordance with the laws on the protection of territorial waters and “move ” the destroyer of the US.
Tian criticized the US actions, calling them “serious violations of China’s sovereignty and security” and evidence that America is seeking to establish “sole control over navigation in the South China Sea and fueling the militarization” of the region. .
The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper operated in accordance with international law in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea before leaving the area of ”excessive claims” and continued operations.
“The operation supported the rights, freedoms and legitimate use of the sea by overcoming restrictions on innocent passage imposed by the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and Vietnam,” it said.
The Paracel Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. The islands are actually controlled by China, but are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
Beijing claims control over most of the South China Sea and has ignored a 2016 ruling by the International Tribunal in The Hague that there is no basis for its claims to rights over the disputed islands in the sea.
Washington and its allies regularly send warships into the disputed waters to demonstrate freedom of navigation. Each time it causes protests from Beijing.
Earlier, the media reported that China is building a new runway for military aircraft on the disputed Triton Island in the South China Sea.
Source: korrespondent
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