China upset over US vessel in ‘its waters’

BEIJING: China on Thursday accused the US of trespassing after an American warship sailed near a reef claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, the first such operation by President Donald Trump’s administration in the disputed waterway.

The row comes during a period of warming relations between the countries with Trump saying that Washington has dialled down pressure on Beijing over other issues in hopes of securing their cooperation on North Korea.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey entered the area “without permission from the Chinese government”, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters, adding the ship “trespassed in the waters near the relevant islands and reefs”.

“The relevant action taken by the US vessel undermines China’s sovereignty and security interests, and is very likely to cause unexpected sea and air accidents,” he said.

The USS Dewey sailed less than 12 nautical miles from Mischief Reef — part of the Spratly Islands — on Thursday morning, a US official said earlier, the first freedom of navigation operation under Trump. The UN says nations can establish the breadth of their territorial sea up to a limit of 12 nautical miles.AFP