The Chinese Ministry of Defense calls on the United States to immediately stop provocative actions, such as sending military destroyers to the waters of the South China Sea.
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South China Sea
The Chinese Ministry of Defense said today, Friday, that it was once again forced to remove the US destroyer “Milios”, which entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracels Islands.
A spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry demanded “firmly” that the United States “immediately stop such provocative actions, otherwise it will bear the serious repercussions of these unexpected incidents.”
The US Navy said that the destroyer, which carries guided missiles, confirms its navigational rights and freedoms, pointing out that the US forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis.
Yesterday, the Chinese army announced that it had forced an American destroyer to withdraw after illegally entering the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, threatening the security of the waterways.
This is not the first time that US destroyers have crossed the South China Sea. Last July, Beijing expressed its anger after a US destroyer sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea. In contrast, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei also have competing and often overlapping claims to sovereignty.
