US warship sails close to disputed islands in SCS

BEIJING : An American warship sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the US Navy has said, challenging Beijing’s claims on the resource-rich waterway and prompting a warning from the Chinese military.

The Thursday operation came a day after China fired ballistic missiles into the sea as part of ongoing live-fire exercises, inflaming already high tensions between Washington and Beijing. The US regularly conduct “freedom of navigation operations” in the area to challenge Chinese territorial claims.

The US Navy’s Pacific Fleet said in a statement that the USS Mustin, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed on Thursday “in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands to ensure critical shipping lanes in the area remain free and open”.

The Chinese military on Friday accused the US ship of entering “China’s territorial waters” near the islands “without authorisation”. Chinese forces tracked the warship and then warned it to leave, said military spokesman Li Huamin.

WECHAT BAN: ‘CHINESE MAY BOYCOTT APPLE’

Chinese consumers could boycott Apple if the United States bans Wechat, China’s foreign ministry spokesman warned Friday, as the clock ticks down on a US order to block the popular social app.

US President Donald Trump this month announced a ban from mid-september on Wechat and another Chinese-owned app, Tiktok, accusing them of threatening national security. But foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted on Friday that “If Wechat is banned, then there will be no reason why Chinese shall keep iphone and apple products”.

MICROSOFT, WALMART MAKE JOINT TIKTOK BID

Microsoft Corp is teaming up with Walmart Inc in a contest against Oracle Corp to buy the US assets of Tiktok from China’s Bytedance Ltd.

Oracle and Microsoft, with its new partner, both submitted bids in a deal that could come within the week. Walmart would also own a stake in a newly spun off Tiktok business, alongside Microsoft, people familiar with the deliberations said.