China’s military said on Tuesday it had deployed forces to monitor a US warship that entered waters near the disputed Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, as Taiwan reported a separate standoff with a Chinese coast guard vessel near the Pratas Islands.
The Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command said the USS Charleston had “illegally intruded” into waters adjacent to Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without Beijing’s approval.
In a statement, the command said the US action infringed on China’s sovereign rights, threatened maritime security and undermined regional peace and stability. It called on Washington to stop such activities.
China’s navy dispatched forces to track and monitor the vessel, the command added. The US Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington generally describes such missions as freedom of navigation operations, intended to challenge maritime claims it considers excessive under international law. The last known US operation of this kind in the South China Sea was more than a year ago.
The latest incident comes amid continuing tensions between China and the Philippines over competing claims to Sabina Shoal and the wider Spratly Islands. Last month, the Philippine Coast Guard said a Chinese coast guard vessel rammed a Philippine boat on a refuelling mission near the shoal. Beijing blamed the collision on the Philippine side.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said a Chinese coast guard vessel entered restricted waters near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the northern part of the South China Sea.
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Taiwan said it dispatched its vessel, the Taichung, to warn the Chinese ship away, with both sides broadcasting messages to each other.
According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard, the Chinese vessel declared that the “so-called Republic of China does not exist”, referring to Taiwan’s official name. The Taiwanese vessel responded that the Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign, independent country.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard said the standoff was continuing. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, the office said Taiwan would have to “bear the consequences” after its coast guard used a water cannon against a Chinese fishing boat near the Pratas Islands.
The islands lie between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong and are lightly defended, with Taiwan’s Coast Guard responsible for security.
