China has scolded the United States for once again sending warship to the South China Sea near islands claimed by Beijing.
China foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said on Friday that US guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville sailed Chinese waters without permission on Monday and China had made its position known with its “stern representations.”
The navy ship sailed near the Paracel Islands to challenge China’s “excessive maritime claims,” the US Pacific fleet said in a statement.
The Chinese army said it had sent ships and planes to watch the US warship and to warn it to leave.
The warship’s passage through the contested waters was the latest move by the US navy to challenge what Washington calls Beijing’s attempt to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters mostly claimed by Beijing.
It was the second US naval operation to anger China this week.
On Wednesday, two US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, which China considers its territory, prompting a furious Beijing to send warships and fighter jets.
Source: Press TV
