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News > World

China Calls US Navy Destroyer Sailing Near Triton Island 'a Serious Provocation'

  • Pictured in the background is the USS Stetham arriving in Shanghai in 2015.

    Pictured in the background is the USS Stetham arriving in Shanghai in 2015. | Photo: AFP

Published 3 July 2017
Opinion

This latest row comes on the heels of the U.S. State Department authorizing a US$1.42 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

The USS Stethem, a navy destroyer that's part of the United States' Destroyer Squadron 15, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the South China Seas on Sunday, prompting strong rebuke from Beijing.

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Lu Kang, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, prepared a statement condemning what he claimed to be “a serious political and military provocation.” He stressed that repeated operations of this nature are unacceptable and that China “will continue to take all necessary means to defend national sovereignty and security.”

While China accused the U.S. government of trespassing in its territorial waters, the U.S. Pacific Fleet declined to respond or provide details of the military vessel's mission according to Associated Press. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Stethem conducted a routine “right of innocent passage.”

The incident, described by China as the United States “deliberately stirring up troubles,” occurred only hours prior to a telephone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump.

Encroachment by USS Stethem on Triton Island comes at a tenuous time in U.S.-China relations as the latter continues to accuse the former of illegally expanding its military presence in the South China Sea. It also comes as both nations remain at odds over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s defensive nuclear weapons program.

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This latest row comes on the heels of the U.S. State Department authorizing a US$1.42 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the first deal of its kind under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The last U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, worth US$1.8 billion dollars, took place during the administration of former President Barack Obama. Though China objected, diplomatic relations between the United States and China remained cordial.

Possession of Triton Island which is part of the Paracel Islands archipelago is contested between China, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

UN agreements stipulate that any territory has the right to claim waters up to 12 nautical miles from its coast. According to the BBC however, the sailing of U.S. naval vessel within those limits demonstrate that that the United States doesn't respect anybody's territorial claim.

While China is located 238 nautical miles from the Triton Islands, the United States is 4,524 nautical miles away.

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