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Beijing has complained that the U.S. has entered Vietnam into its waters with islands that Taiwan and Taiwan have also declared unauthorized.
China reacted angrily after the U.S. Navy sent a warship across the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, saying it was a “claim” of navigation rights and freedoms in the mission, but China said it was illegal.
The Chinese Army’s Southern Theater Command said Thursday that Curtis Wilbur entered the USS without permission, and that its ships and aircraft were following the U.S. ship.
Spokesman Tian Junli said the PLA had “expelled” Curtis Wilbur from the USS, and said the U.S. was “genuinely problematic,” the state-run CGTN reporter said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea along the so-called nine-line line this has been unfoundedly rejected by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Taiwan, as well as the maritime states of Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia, claim all or part of the sea.
In a statement, the U.S. 7th Fleet said Curtis Wilbur on the USS Curtis Wilbur, an Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyer, sailed “around” the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on May 20 in a rights defense operation, freedoms and legal uses of the sea recognized in international law.
“Illegal and widespread claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the sea, including freedom of navigation and flight, free trade and freedom from unhindered trade and economic opportunities on the South China Sea.” he said.
The South China Sea erupted as the main point of deteriorating relations between the US and China, with Washington rejecting Beijing’s claims in a strategic move; he intensified the construction of artificial islands and expanded the rocky islands to establish military bases.
China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands, Xisha in China and Hoang Sa in Vietnam. The island chain is about 400 kilometers from Vietnam and 350 kilometers south of China.
According to the U.S. Navy, all three require permission or prior notification before a military ship or warship can make an “innocent passage” across the territory. He added that under the 1982 Maritime Law Convention, ships of all countries – including their warships – have the right to pass innocently across the territorial sea, and said he did not claim or seek permission from any of the applicants.
The U.S. has stepped up so-called “freedom of navigation” operations in recent years, not only in the South China Sea but also in the Taiwan Strait, Curtis Wilbur in the U.S. he set sail on Tuesday. China has said the operation threatens “peace and stability.”
“The United States defends freedom of navigation as a principle,” the U.S. Army said in a statement, noting that its operations were conducted in accordance with international law. He previously sent a warship – the John S McCain USS – near Paracels in February.
“As long as some countries continue to claim maritime claims that are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the 1982 Maritime Convention and express their desire to illegally restrict the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all states, the United States will continue to defend them.”
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