The destroyer USS Milius “illegally entered” Thursday “without the approval of the Chinese authorities” in the waters of the Paracels, said Tian Junli, spokesman for the Chinese army’s southern theater of operations. “Naval and air forces have been mobilized to track and monitor this vessel, as well as issue a warning and remove it from the area.”
He denounced an American maneuver that “undermines peace and stability in the South China Sea” and assured that the army “remains on its guard and will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty”.
” Lie “
“The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) statement is a lie,” replied a spokesman for the US Army’s Indo-Pacific Command. “The USS Milius is conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and has not been turned back. The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate where international law permits.”
This incident occurs in a context of a struggle for influence between Beijing and Washington in this maritime area and strong rivalry on several other issues: Taiwan, TikTok, treatment of the Uyghur minority or even trade.
China thus claims a large part of the islands of this maritime zone. But other riparian nations (Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei) have competing sovereignty claims. Each country controls several islands and atolls, notably in the Spratly archipelago, further south, where incidents are much more frequent than in the Paracels.
