China warns of counter measures after US warship sails through South China Sea
Beijing, Jan 20- China accused the US of trespassing its territorial waters and warned taking "necessary measures" to firmly safeguard its sovereignty after an American missile destroyer sailed close to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the naval ship USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Dao on January 17 without China's permission.
Huangyan Dao is also known as Scarborough Shoal, the ring of reefs which lies about 230 kilometres from the Philippines in the South China Sea (SCS), where Beijing's claims are hotly contested by other nations.
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asked the US not to "cause trouble out of nothing,"[/caption]
China's Ministry of National Defence also asked the US not to "cause trouble out of nothing," claiming that the situation around the South China Sea was becoming "more and more stable and positive".
"The naval ship USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles off Huangyan Dao, widely known Scarborough Shoal on January 17 without gaining permission from the Chinese government," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement on Saturday.
He said the Chinese Navy carried out identification and verification procedures in accordance with law and asked the US vessel to leave.
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Chinese Navy carried out identification and verification procedures[/caption]
"What the US vessel did violated China's sovereignty and security interests, put the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel who were in the relevant waters for official duties under grave threat, and contravened the basic norms for international relations," Lu said.
"China is strongly dissatisfied with that and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty," he added.
China, which has been reinforcing its hold on the disputed SCS with military installations in the shoals and reclaimed islands, claims sovereignty over almost all of it.
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over SCS.
In a bid to question China's claims over the area, the US has been pressing naval ships and air force planes frequently to pass through the area, through which trillions of dollars of international trade takes place to assert freedom of navigation.
Lu, in the statement, said "China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and the adjacent waters".
"China always respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea all countries are entitled to under the international law. But we firmly oppose any country using navigation and overflight freedom as an excuse to hurt China's sovereignty and security interests," he said.
"We strongly urge the US side to immediately correct its mistake and stop making such provocative moves so as to avoid undermining China-US relations and regional peace and stability," he said.
Reacting to the US naval ship travelling through the shoal in the SCS, China's Ministry of National Defence asked the US not to "cause trouble out of nothing" and to respect the sovereignty of China.
Wu Qian, spokesperson for the ministry said that the US guided missile destroyer, arbitrarily entered waters surrounding Huangyan Island and a Chinese naval ship immediately conducted an identification and warning process to drive it away.
"Under joint efforts by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the situation around the South China Sea is becoming more and more stable and positive," Wu said.
Alleging that the US had sent vessels to illegally enter the waters around China's islands and reefs in the SCS on multiple occasions, endangering the safety of vessels and personnel from both sides, the spokesperson said it has also threatened China's sovereignty and security.
"It had harmed the regional peace and stability, and gone against the stable development of relations between the two countries and their militaries.
"We hope that the US will respect China's sovereignty, respect the efforts made by the countries within the region, and not cause trouble out of nothing or make waves," Wu said.
The spokesperson also said that the Chinese military will continue to fulfill its defensive duties, intensify its patrols in the air and at sea, in order to firmly safeguard the sovereignty and security of the country, as well as the regional peace and stability. PTI
