The guided missile destroyer USS Benfold arrives at port in Qingdao, China, on Aug. 8, 2016. (Borg Wong / AP)
BEIJING --
Chinese language forces adopted and warned away a U.S. warship which entered waters close to the Paracel Islands within the South China Sea, the nation's army mentioned on Thursday, however the U.S. Navy denied the ship had been warned off.
The Southern Theatre Command of the Folks's Liberation Military mentioned the usBenfold "illegally" sailed into Chinese language territorial waters with out permission, violating the nation's sovereignty, and that Chinese language naval and air forces tracked the ship.
"We solemnly demand that the U.S. aspect instantly cease such provocative actions, in any other case it should bear the intense penalties of unexpected occasions," it added.
The U.S. Navy rejected the concept that the Benfold was warned away however appeared to substantiate the ship was working within the space, saying the mission mirrored the U.S. Navy's dedication to defend freedom of navigation.
"The PRC's assertion about this mission is fake," seventh Fleet spokesman Mark Langford mentioned in a press release. The seventh Fleet is a part of the U.S. Navy's Pacific power.
The Benfold was conducting what the navy referred to as a freedom of navigation operation "in accordance with worldwide regulation," the assertion mentioned. The ship then "continued on to conduct regular operations in worldwide waters."
The U.S. Navy continuously carries out such missions within the South China Sea to problem Chinese language territorial claims.
"The US is defending each nation's proper to fly, sail, and function wherever worldwide regulation permits, as USS Benfold did this week. Nothing the PRC says in any other case will deter us," the assertion additional added.
China has established army outposts on synthetic islands within the waters of the South China Sea, that are crossed by very important transport lanes and in addition include gasoline fields and wealthy fishing grounds.
The South China Sea has change into certainly one of many flashpoints within the testy relationship between China and america, with Washington rejecting what it calls illegal territorial claims by Beijing.
China claims massive swaths of the South China Sea. Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines all have overlapping claims.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Extra reporting by Martin Pollard; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Enhancing by Kenneth Maxwell and Frank Jack Daniel)
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