China has reacted with fury after the United States Navy sent a warship through waters in the disputed South China Sea near the Paracel Islands in a mission it said was to “assert” navigational rights and freedoms, but China said was illegal.
The Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command said on Thursday the USS Curtis Wilbur had entered the waters without permission, and that its ships and planes followed the US vessel.
Spokesperson Tian Junli said the PLA had “expelled” the USS Curtis Wilbur, describing the US as a “true troublemaker”, state broadcaster CGTN reported.
In a statement, the US 7th fleet said the USS Curtis Wilbur, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, sailed through the South China Sea “in the vicinity” of the Paracel Islands on May 20 in an operation to uphold the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognised under international law”, the statement said.
The South China Sea has emerged as a chief flashpoint in deteriorating relations between the US and China, with Washington rejecting Beijing’s claims in the strategic waterway where it has stepped up the construction of artificial islands and expanded rocky islets to establish military bases.
Credit: aljazeera.com
The post China furious after US warship sails close to disputed Islands appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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