The United States Navy responded to Beijing's claims that a warship, known as the USS Gabrielle Giffords, "illegally" entered the South China Sea on Monday.
The incident revolves around a statement made by the Chinese military that the American vessel intruded into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal. This is the site of a hot territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.
Beijing Criticizes US Navy Ship in South China Sea
Following the initial report, a Chinese naval force was mobilized to track the American vessel during the operation. The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the warship "was conducting routine operations in international waters consistent with international law."
In the past few months, Chinese and Philippine naval and coast guard ships have repeatedly confronted each other around the Spratly Islands shoal as China is trying to prevent its Asian neighbor from re-supplying and repairing a rusting warship that it intentionally ran aground in 1999 to serve as a military outpost, as per the Navy Times.
The Philippines, having a much inferior military might than China, has sought help from the United States in its multiple territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to an expansion of the US military presence in the country early this year.
China is accusing the United States of interfering in waters far from its shores and renewed its charge that the American government is raising regional tensions. This follows the sailing of the USS Giffords near Second Thomas Shoal. The warship is a littoral combat ship designed to operate in coastal areas.
The Chinese military's Southern Theater released a statement saying that the US deliberately disrupted the situation in the South China Sea. It claimed that America seriously violated China's sovereignty and security while also undermining regional peace and stability.
Territorial Dispute
The US Navy's 7th Fleet, based in Japan, said that its operations in the South China Sea demonstrate a commitment to upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific region. According to Fox News, it noted that this is an area where all nations are secure in their sovereignty and can resolve disputes without coercion.
The incident comes as the American nation has a long history of patrolling the South China Sea, a crucial shipping lane and fishing grounds, to ensure regional peace. China's emergence as a military power over the last five decades and its growing ambitions to be a regional and global power challenge long-standing American dominance.
China's claims in the South China Sea come despite a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague that its claims have no legal basis. Various nations, including Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, have territorial claims.
Beijing, in particular, has been accused of harassment and intimidation in its efforts to assert its sovereignty claims in the regional waters. It also comes as China has never recognized the 2016 international tribunal ruling, said NBC News.