China warns US navy destroyer in South China Sea
BEIJING/TAIPEI: China on Thursday said its armed forces deployed warships and aircraft to monitor and warn away a US guided missile destroyer from waters near the Paracel (Xisha) islands in the South China Sea, the latest tense incident between the two countries in the disputed maritime region.
The US warship USS Benfold “illegally” sailed into Chinese territorial waters without permission, violating the country’s sovereignty, and that Chinese naval and air forces tracked the ship before warning it away, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Southern Theatre Command said.
“The actions of the US side have seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, which is another iron proof that it is pursuing navigational hegemony and militarising the South China Sea,” the theatre command said in a statement. “We solemnly demand that the US side immediately stop such provocative actions, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen events.”
“The PRC’s statement about this mission is false. USS Benfold conducted this FONOP (freedom of navigation operation) in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations in international waters,” the 7th Fleet spokesperson Mark Langford said in an statement on Thursday.
In an earlier statement, Langford said the Benfold “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Island, consistent with international law”.
“At the conclusion of the operation, USS Benfold exited the excessive claim and continued operations in the South China Sea,” Langford added.
The US, the statement added, carries out what it calls freedom of navigation missions in the South China Sea to challenge Chinese territorial claims.
Taiwan’s VP to make US halts in visit to Honduras
Taiwan vice-president William Lai will transit in the United States when he visits Honduras next week, Taiwan’s presidential office said on Thursday, amid tensions with China which always complains to Washington about such stopovers.
China regularly calls Taiwan the most sensitive and important issue between it and the US, which does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is the island’s strongest ally and main weapons supplier.
Lai will travel to and from Taiwanese diplomatic ally Honduras via the US cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, in what is generally standard procedure for visits by top Taiwanese leaders to Latin America.