The United States (US) warships sailing in the disputed waters where China claims ownership is a “serious infringement” on its “inherent territory,” China’s Ministry of National Defense said.
According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Wu Qian, the guided missile cruiser Antietam and the destroyer Higgins of the US, “arbitrarily entered on May 27 China’s territorial waters around the Xisha Islands without permission of the Chinese government.”
This move, which Wu tagged as a “provocative action,” prompted China to “dispatch naval ships and aircrafts to conduct legal identification and verification of the U.S. warships and warn them off.”
“The U.S. provocative action by sending once again warships into China’s territorial waters surrounding the Xisha Islands violated Chinese law and relevant international law, seriously infringed sovereignty of China,” Wu said.
Wu also slammed US as it “undermined strategic mutual trust between US and China militaries” and “damaged peace, security and good order in relevant waters.”
DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 5/28/18