China says a US warship illegally entered the waters of the South China Sea

HONG KONG – The Chinese military announced Monday that a US warship “illegally” entered the waters near Second Thomas Shoal, an atoll in the South China Sea claimed by China, the Philippines and other countries.

China’s Southern Theater Command said it had sent a naval force to follow and monitor the littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords, which is designed for near-shore operations, accusing the United States of stirring up tensions in the region.

“The United States is violating China’s sovereignty and integrity, disrupting regional peace and stability, and violating international law and basic norms of international relations,” a Southern Command spokesperson said in a statement on the Southern Theater Command’s official WeChat account.

The US Navy rejected the Chinese accusations, saying the USS Giffords was “conducting routine operations in international waters in the South China Sea, consistent with international law.”

“Every day, the U.S. 7th Fleet operates in the South China Sea, as they have for decades,” Christina Weidman, deputy public affairs officer, told NBC News via email. “The operations demonstrate that we are committed to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a vital shipping route rich in natural resources, despite a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague that its claims have no legal basis. Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam also have different territorial claims in the region that have led to disputes with China and each other.

China in particular has been accused of harassment and intimidation in its efforts to assert its sovereignty claims.

According to the 2016 ruling, which Beijing has never recognized, Second Thomas Shoal lies entirely within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. China and the Philippines, treaty allies of the United States, have seen multiple confrontations in the region in recent months as China attempts to prevent the Philippines from resupplying a rusty warship that has served as a military outpost since the Philippine government deliberately ran aground in 2016. 1999.

Over the weekend, the Philippines deployed two coast guard ships to another coral area off its coast, and said China was “swarming” with more than 135 boats. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the reef is Chinese territory and that operations by Chinese fishing vessels in the area are “reasonable and legal.”