BANGKOK — China threatened “serious consequences” Friday after the U.S. Navy sailed a destroyer across the disputed Paracel Islands within the South China Sea for the second one day in a row, in a transfer Beijing claimed was once a contravention of its sovereignty and safety.
The caution comes amid rising tensions between China and the United States within the area, as Washington pushes again at Beijing’s growingly assertive posture within the South China Sea, a strategic waterway it claims just about in its entirety.
On Thursday, after the U.S. sailed the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer close to the Paracel Islands, China mentioned its military and air pressure had pressured the American vessel away, a declare the U.S. army denied.
The U.S. on Friday sailed the send once more within the neighborhood of the islands, that are occupied via China but in addition claimed via Taiwan and Vietnam, as a part of what it known as a “freedom of navigation operation” challenging requirements from all three nations requiring either advance notification or permission before a military vessel sails by.
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations,” mentioned U.S. seventh Fleet spokesman Lt. j.g. Luka Bakic in an emailed remark.
“The United States challenges excessive maritime claims around the world regardless of the identity of the claimant,” Bakic added.
China’s Ministry of National Defense responded by accusing the U.S. of “undermining the peace and stability of the South China Sea” with its actions.
“The act of the U.S. military seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, severely breached international laws, and is more ironclad evidence of the U.S. pursuing navigation hegemony and militarizing the South China Sea,” ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said. “We solemnly request that the US. immediately stop such actions of provocation, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unexpected incidents caused by this.”
He said China would take “all necessary measures” to ensure its security but did not elaborate.
Like its statement on the Thursday incident, China again said it drove the American ship away from the islands, which are in the South China Sea a few hundred kilometers (miles) off the coast of Vietnam and the Chinese province of Hainan.
Both sides said their actions were justified under international law.
Bakic told The Associated Press that the ship “was not driven away” and “continued on to conduct routine maritime security operations in international waters” after concluding its mission near the Paracel Islands.
“The operation reflects our commitment to uphold freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the sea for all nations,” he said. “The United States will proceed to fly, sail, and function anyplace world legislation lets in, as Milius did lately.”
The U.S. has no South China Sea claims itself, however has deployed Naval and Air Force property for many years to patrol the strategic waterway, wherein round $5 trillion in international business transits every yr and which holds extremely treasured fish shares and undersea mineral assets.
A United Nations-backed arbitration tribunal dominated in 2016 that the ancient declare from China at the waters had no felony foundation beneath the 1982 U.N. Convention at the Law of the Seas, and Washington maintains that freedom of navigation and overflight of the waterway are within the American nationwide passion.
U.S. forces these days function within the South China Sea day by day, and feature been provide for greater than a century. China continuously responds angrily, accusing the U.S. of meddling in Asian affairs and impinging upon its sovereignty.
China’s claims have often introduced it into war with different international locations within the area as neatly, and Filipino diplomats had been anticipated to unharness a slew of protests on Friday over China’s contemporary concentrated on of a Philippine coast guard send with a formidable army laser and different competitive habits.
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Find extra AP Asia-Pacific protection at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
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