China has accused the United States of sending a warship without permission into what it said was its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea, adding that it would take “necessary measures” to “safeguard its sovereignty.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the U.S. Navy’s USS Hopper guided-missile destroyer had sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of what is known as Scarborough Shoal, a group of disputed islets that Beijing calls Huangyan Island, on Wednesday night.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said that the Chinese Navy had identified the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave, according to a statement posted to the ministry’s website.

“What the U.S. vessel did violated China’s sovereignty and security interests, put the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel who were in the relevant waters for official duties under grave threat, and contravened the basic norms for international relations,” Lu said. “China is strongly dissatisfied with that and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty.”

Washington has lambasted Beijing for its man-made islands in the South China Sea, with some home to military-grade airfields and weapons. The U.S. fears the outposts could be used to restrict free movement in the waterway — which includes vital sea lanes through which about $3 trillion in global trade passes each year — and has conducted several so-called freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) in the area.

Beijing has disputed this claim, saying the militarization of the outposts has been for self-defense purposes.

“China always respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea all countries are entitled to under international law,” Lu said. “But we firmly oppose any country using navigation and overflight freedom as an excuse to hurt China’s sovereignty and security interests. We strongly urge the U.S. side to immediately correct its mistake and stop making such provocative moves so as to avoid undermining China-U.S. relations and regional peace and stability.”

Meanwhile, China’s Defense Ministry said it had told the U.S. not to “cause trouble out of nothing” after the FONOP.

“We hope that the United States will respect China’s sovereignty, respect the efforts made by the countries within the region, and not cause trouble out of nothing or make waves,” Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said in a statement, adding that China would intensify its patrols in the air and at sea.

Asked to confirm the patrol, the Pentagon said U.S. forces “operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea.”

“All operations are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan said. “We are continuing regular FONOPs, as we have routinely done in the past and will continue to do in the future.”

Scarborough Shoal, which is also claimed by Taipei and Manila and sits just 230 km (140 miles) from the Philippine coast, has long been the subject of speculation amid Beijing’s massive land-reclamation projects in the South China Sea.

China effectively seized the shoal — a prime fishing spot — from the Philippines in 2012 after a tense standoff. In the wake of this, and a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s claim of sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, the coral outcrop has become synonymous with the regional power struggle in the strategic waterway.

Beijing claims virtually the entire South China Sea, and has built up a series of man-made outposts in what the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank has said is a bid to create “fully functioning air and naval bases.”

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the waters.

Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at CSIS, said the U.S. freedom of navigation operations in the waters were unlikely to stop.

“Since the Trump administration started conducting FONOPs, they have held operations every six to eight weeks,” Glaser said. “Not all ops have been reported. Chinese actions such as warnings to ships and aircraft to keep away from Scarborough Shoal, beyond the 12 nautical mile limit, (will) likely continue. Those are excessive maritime claims that FONOPs are intended to challenge.”

But Glaser said she did not expect the latest patrol by the U.S. to embolden China to make a stronger push — including by reclaiming land — to take over Scarborough Shoal, which experts say Beijing has long coveted.

Analysts say building at Scarborough could create a large “strategic triangle” comprising Chinese-controlled Woody Island in the Paracel chain and its man-made outposts in the Spratly chain, giving Beijing the ability to police an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea and effectively creating a “Chinese lake.”

While Beijing and Manila have a long history of maritime squabbles over sovereignty in the South China Sea, especially over the tiny shoal, those tensions have eased under the Philippine’s China-friendly leader Rodrigo Duterte.

“China is unlikely to dredge at Scarborough Shoal in the near term,” Glaser said. “Doing so would put at risk its improved relations with the Philippines under Duterte.”</s>Beijing: Beijing on Saturday said it had dispatched a warship to drive away a US missile destroyer which had "violated" its sovereignty by sailing close to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea.

The USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Island on the night of 17 January without alerting Beijing, the foreign ministry said, referring to the shoal by its Chinese name.

Also known as Scarborough Shoal, the ring of reefs lies about 230 kilometres from the Philippines in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims are hotly contested by other nations.

The US vessel "violated China's sovereignty and security interests", and put the safety of nearby Chinese vessels "under grave threat", foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

China's defence ministry said in a separate statement that a Chinese frigate "immediately took actions to identify and verify the US ship and drove it away by warning" it.

The USS Hopper recently entered the US Navy's 7th Fleet area of operations, where the ship is on an "independent deployment", according to a statement released earlier this month on the Navy's website.

Its mission in Asia involves "security cooperation, building partner capacity, and performing routine operations within the area".

News of the encounter follows Friday's release of a new US national defence strategy that says America is facing "growing threats" from China and Russia.

China is a "strategic competitor using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbours while militarising features in the South China Sea", the document says.

China's defence ministry dismissed those claims on Saturday, saying "the situation in the South China Sea has steadily stabilised," in comments attributed to spokesman Wu Qian.

But it added, "the United States has repeatedly sent warships illegally into the adjacent waters of the South China Sea islands and reefs."

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea despite rival claims from Southeast Asian neighbours and has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

China seized Scarborough Shoal in 2012 after a brief stand-off with the Philippine navy. The shoal is also claimed by Taiwan.</s>BEIJING (AP) - The Chinese government on Saturday accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China would take "necessary measures" to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China's permission.

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012. Known in Chinese as Huangyan Island, it lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, and about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of China.

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 21, 2015, file photo, U.S. Navy's amphibious assault vehicles with Philippine and U.S. troops on board maneuver in the waters during a combined assault exercise facing the contested Scarborough Shoal in waters off of the Philippines. The Chinese government, Saturday, Jan 20, 2018, accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.

"We hope that the U.S. respects China's sovereignty, respects the efforts by regional countries and do not make trouble out of nothing," Wu said in a statement on the ministry's website.

The South China Sea has crucial shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and potential oil, gas and other mineral deposits.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has carried out extensive land reclamation work on many of the islands and reefs it claims, equipping some with air strips and military installations.

The United States does not claim territory in the South China Sea but has declared it has a national interest in ensuring that the territorial disputes there are resolved peacefully in accordance with international law.

The Navy regularly sails through the area to assert freedom of navigation.

"The United States conducts routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do so in the future," Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, said after China's claim. FONOP is the military's term for freedom of navigation operations.

She said such operations are "not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements." Instead they aim to "demonstrate our commitment to uphold the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law."</s>BEIJING (AP) – The Chinese government has accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Saturday that China will take “necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China’s permission.

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012.

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian says a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has tried to fortify its foothold in recent years by transforming reefs into island outposts.

Get breaking news, weather, and traffic on the go. Download our News App and our Weather App for your phone and tablet.</s>moodboard/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 miles of Scarborough Shoal, a small uninhabited reef in the South China Sea claimed by China and the Philippines, according to a U.S. official. China’s Foreign Ministry accused the United States of trespassing through its territorial waters.

The USS Hopper carried out an “innocent passage” within 12 miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening, said a U.S. official. The guided missile destroyer was shadowed during the operation by a Chinese Navy ship.

The U.S. official described the Hopper’s patrol as an “innocent passage” and not a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) under the strict legal definition, but “the message was the same.”

Under international law, a nation’s territorial waters extend 12 miles from its shoreline.

Barely above sea level, the chain of reefs and rocks is located 120 miles west of the Philippines and is claimed by China and the Philippines. Since 2012, Chinese government ships have turned away Philippine fishing vessels near the rich fishing grounds surrounding the shoal.

In 2016, an international court at The Hague ruled against China’s claim to Scarborough Shoal in a case filed by the Philippines.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Hopper had sailed within its 12-mile territorial limit “without gaining permission from the Chinese government.”

“What the U.S. vessel did violated China’s sovereignty and security interests, put the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel who were in the relevant waters for official duties under grave threat, and contravened the basic norms for international relations,” the statement added.

“China is strongly dissatisfied with that and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty,” said the statement.

The U.S. Navy has previously conducted FONOPs in the South China Sea through other disputed island chains claimed by China, including the Spratleys and the Paracels. Pentagon officials stressed that FONOPs are conducted worldwide and are intended to demonstrate freedom of navigation through international waters.

“The United States conducts routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do so in the future,” said Lt. Commander Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

“We have a comprehensive FONOP program under which U.S. forces challenge excessive maritime claims across the globe to demonstrate our commitment to uphold the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law. FONOPs are not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements. FONOPS are designed to comply with international law and not threaten the lawful security interest of coastal states.”</s>The Chinese government on Saturday accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China would take “necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China’s permission.

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012. Known in Chinese as Huangyan Island, it lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, and about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of China.

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.

“We hope that the U.S. respects China’s sovereignty, respects the efforts by regional countries and do not make trouble out of nothing,” Wu said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

Read more at the Washington Post</s>China says it warned off a US Navy destroyer near a group of disputed islets in the South China Sea last week.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Saturday that the USS Hopper missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Scarborough Shoal, called Huangyan Island in China, on Wednesday night.

“The Chinese navy carried out identification and verification procedures in accordance with the law and warned the US vessel to leave,” Lu said.

“China is strongly dissatisfied with the [US action] and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty.”

The encounter between the two navies adds to long-standing tension between the United States and China in waters contested by at least six nations.

Just over a year ago, a US Navy plane and a Chinese surveillance aircraft flew within 300 metres (1,000 feet) of each other near the Scarborough Shoal.

The shoal off the western coast of the Philippines is seen as a strategic point among the claimants because it is within easy striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines. A military outpost there could also stop other navies from using a northeast gateway to the area.

Beijing and Manila have tussled over the shoal on and off since 2013, when Manila took its case to an international tribunal in The Hague. The tribunal ruled in 2016 that the “nine-dash line” which underpins Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea had no legal basis.

Nevertheless, China has built artificial islands and facilities on other disputed parts of the waters, according to satellite images.

The US does not claim sovereignty of the waters but says it has the right to conduct freedom-of-navigation operations in the area.

Zhang Jie, a Southeast Asian affairs specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the incident on Wednesday would have been the first time a US Navy destroyer had gone so close the islets, which she described as a “very sensitive region”. Beijing considers any US patrols within 12 nautical miles of the islands as an intrusion into its territorial waters.

In June 2016, the US sent a total of three destroyers to conduct patrols within 14 to 20 nautical miles of the shoal and the Spratly Islands.

Zhang said the shoal was the Philippines’ unspoken bottom line in its quiet diplomacy with China on the South China Sea.

“The current diplomatic approach of the Philippines is to make the sovereignty [over the shoal] ambiguous,” she said.

“It has asked China not to build on the shoal, which China has not. The mutual preference of both the Philippines and China over this particular [shoal] is stability.”

Zhang said she expected to see more frequent confrontations between the US and Chinese militaries in the South China Sea, with Washington putting China and Russia at the centre of its new national defence strategy.

“The South China Sea will be the ground on which the two powers will wrestle for military power. It has become a long-term conflict,” she said.</s>BEIJING — The Chinese government on Saturday accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China would take "necessary measures" to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China's permission.

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012. Known in Chinese as Huangyan Island, it lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, and about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of China.

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.

"We hope that the U.S. respects China's sovereignty, respects the efforts by regional countries and do not make trouble out of nothing," Wu said in a statement on the ministry's website.

The South China Sea has crucial shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and potential oil, gas and other mineral deposits.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has carried out extensive land reclamation work on many of the islands and reefs it claims, equipping some with air strips and military installations.

The United States does not claim territory in the South China Sea but has declared it has a national interest in ensuring that the territorial disputes there are resolved peacefully in accordance with international law.

The Navy regularly sails through the area to assert freedom of navigation.</s>on Saturday accused the US of trespassing its territorial waters and warned taking "necessary measures" to firmly safeguard its sovereignty after an American missile destroyer sailed close to a shoal in the disputed South Sea to assert freedom of navigation. spokesman Lu Kang said the naval ship sailed within 12 nautical miles of on January 17 without China's permission. is also known as Scarborough Shoal, the ring of reefs which lies about 230 kilometres from the Philippines in the South Sea (SCS), where Beijing's claims are hotly contested by other nations. "The naval ship sailed within 12 nautical miles off Huangyan Dao, widely known on January 17 without gaining permission from the Chinese government," spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement. He said the Chinese Navy carried out identification and verification procedures in accordance with law and asked the US vessel to leave. "What the US vessel did violated China's sovereignty and security interests, put the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel who were in the relevant waters for official duties under grave threat, and contravened the basic norms for relations," Lu said. " is strongly dissatisfied with that and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty," he added. China, which has been reinforcing its hold on the disputed SCS with military installations in the shoals and reclaimed islands, claims sovereignty over almost all of it. Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over SCS. In a bid to question China's claims over the area, the US has been pressing naval ships and air force planes frequently to pass through the area, through which trillions of dollars of trade takes place to assert freedom of navigation. Lu, in the statement, said " has indisputable sovereignty over and the adjacent waters". " always respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South Sea all countries are entitled to under the law.

But we firmly oppose any country using navigation and overflight freedom as an excuse to hurt China's sovereignty and security interests," he said. "We strongly urge the US side to immediately correct its mistake and stop making such provocative moves so as to avoid undermining and regional peace and stability," he said.</s>China has accused the United States of violating its sovereignty after a U.S. missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of Huangyan Island, also known at Scarborough Shoal, on January 17.

China's Defense Ministry said in a statement that a Chinese frigate "immediately took actions to identify and verify the U.S. ship and drove it away by warning."

China seized Huangyan from the Philippines in 2012.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has carried out extensive land reclamation work on many of the islands and reefs it claims, equipping some with air strips and military installations.

The South China Sea has crucial shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and potential oil, gas and other mineral deposits.

While the U.S. has no territorial claims in the South China Sea and says it is neutral in the dispute, it has said it is concerned China is trying to militarize what should be free and open international waters. About $3 trillion worth of goods pass through the area each year.

The U.S. Navy regularly sails through the area to assert freedom of navigation.

China says it wants to settle any territorial disputes over the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations.
China claims its sovereignty was violated when a United States Navy ship sailed close to the Scarborough Shoal near the Philippines.