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BEIJING (Reuters) – China voiced anger on Tuesday after a US Navy destroyer sailed near China 's claimed islands in the disputed southern China Sea, saying it "s safe for it. resolutely opposed an operation that threatened to threaten his sovereignty.
FILE PHOTO: USS Decatur Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG 73) operates in the South China Sea as part of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) in the South China Sea on October 13, 2016. Courtesy of Diana Quinlan / US Marine / Document via REUTERS / Photo File
Beijing and Washington are facing a trade war in which they impose increasingly stringent tariffs on their respective imports.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the destroyer, the USS Decatur, had sailed on Sunday the 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson's reefs in the Spratly Islands.
The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit the freedom of navigation in strategic waters, where Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian navies operate.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense said that a Chinese navy ship had been sent to warn the US ship to leave.
The ministry said that China has irrefutable sovereignty over the islands of the South China Sea and the waters around them, and that the situation is changing well thanks to the hard work of China and the countries of Asia. Southeast.
"The US is repeatedly sending unauthorized military vessels to the seas off the islands of the South China Sea, seriously threatening China's sovereignty and security, seriously damaging China-US military ties and seriously undermining regional peace and stability, "said the ministry.
"The Chinese army is resolutely opposed to this," he said.
The Chinese armed forces will continue to take all necessary measures to protect the sovereignty and security of the country, the ministry said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that he urged the United States to put an end to these "provocative" acts and to "immediately correct its mistakes".
The operation also comes at a time when military relations between the two countries have plummeted, China also dissatisfied with the US sanctions imposed on the Chinese army for the purchase of Russian weapons and US support for auto-Taiwan. , proclaimed by Beijing.
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said on Monday that he did not see relations between the US and China deteriorating a day after the cancellation of his trip to China.
Reuters reported Sunday that China had canceled a security meeting with Mattis scheduled for October. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mattis was no longer visiting China.
China has not commented on this yet.
Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe is due to visit the United States later this year, but the Chinese Ministry of Defense suggested last week that this may not happen.
Report by Ben Blanchard; Additional report by David Stanway in SHANGHAI; Edited by Paul Tait
