China’s Foreign Ministry has accused a US warship of illegally entering its territorial waters and said it would take “necessary measures” to ensure the protection of its sovereignty.
On the evening of January 17, the US destroyer Huber approached and became 12 nautical miles from Huangyan Island in the South China Sea, the ministry said on its Web site on Saturday.
Huangyan Island is also known as Scarborough, located in the South China Sea and disputed by the Philippines and China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang was quoted as saying that the navy had ordered the ship to retreat after it was identified.
He said the ship violated China’s sovereignty and security interests and threatened the safety of ships and individuals in the area.
The United States has criticized China for building islands and military installations in the region, saying it could be used to restrict freedom of navigation. US ships have conducted a series of patrols in the region to emphasize “free navigation”.
Lu said China was “totally opposed” to the use of free navigation as a justification for harming its sovereignty and urged the United States to “rectify its mistakes”.
In a separate statement, the Chinese Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the United States’ repeated dispatch of warships to the region “undermines regional peace and stability” and harms bilateral relations.
