China Issues Warning to US Military Ship in Disputed Waters

China’s Southern Theater Command spokesman Colonel Li Huamin Tuesday denounced that the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG-52) entered the waters of the South China Sea. 

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"A U.S. warship entered the territorial waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, without Chinese permission," Li reported.

The Asian country deployed airplanes and ships to monitor the movements of the USS Barry and issued warning calls for the destroyer to leave territorial Chinese waters.

"The U.S. performance constitutes a flagrant violation of China's sovereignty and international law,” Li commented.​​​​​​​

"China urges the U.S. to pay more attention to the control of the new coronavirus in its country and to stop military operations that do not lead to regional security, peace or stability," the Chinese officer said.

Arguing to defend the right to navigate in international seas, the U.S. has stepped up the presence of its warships in the South China Sea over the last weeks. The Chinese government has rejected such action, for it represents "a provocation".

The South China Sea is a highly contested stretch of the Pacific Ocean, of which China claims almost 90 percent. Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei are other countries claiming parts of that sea.

Over the past decades, the United States has aligned itself with Beijing's rivals in the maritime dispute to justify its military presence in the region.