Beijing claims that the army has “driven” American Destroyer USS Higgins near the Scarborough reef, where two Chinese ships collided
Destroyer USS Higgins, Photo: US Navy
The Chinese army said on Wednesday that it has monitored and “driven away” an American destroyer navigating to Scarborough Shoal, an island in the South China Sea, which is the subject of a heated dispute, reports Reuters.
The first American military operation known in the last six years in the waters in the reef area took place one day after Filipine accused Chinese ships of “dangerous maneuvers and interference during a supply mission around the atol.
The southern command of the Chinese army said in a statement that the USS Higgins ship entered the territorial waters “without the approval of the Chinese government.”
“The US action has seriously violated China's sovereignty and security and seriously undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he added, promising to maintain “maximum alert.”
The US Indo-Pacific Command refused to comment, redirecting the questions to the 7th US Navy fleet, which did not answer immediately. The US Embassy in Beijing, the capital of China, did not comment until the time of publication.
China claims almost the entire great of South China, despite the territorial claims from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The United States regularly carries out operations by invoking the “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea, contesting what it considers to be restrictions imposed by Beijing and other parts with territorial claims.
Scarborough Shoal was a major source of tension in the South China Sea, a maritime transport for annual trade worth over 3 trillion.
The actions of Chinese ships in this week's reef area also led to the collision of two of them, said Manila, the first collision of its kind known in the area.
Chinese coast guard said he had taken the “necessary measures” to expel the Philippine ships from the respective waters.
In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal decided that Beijing's claims, based on its historical maps, have no basis in international law. But China does not recognize this decision.
