The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Wednesday that it had expelled a United States (US) warship that was found trespassing in China’s territorial waters near the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.
The warship, USS Benfold, is a guided-missile destroyer, which according to China, entered its territorial waters of Xisha Islands without authorisation from Beijing. In retaliation to the provocation, the PLA Southern Theater Command organised its naval and air forces to track, monitor, and warn the US warship away.
In a statement released by the PLA’s Southern Theater Command, spokesperson and Senior Colonel Tian Junli said that the US was “a risk maker” to the security of the volatile waterbody and the “biggest destroyer” of the region’s safety and stability. The spokesperson added that the act had seriously undermined China’s sovereignty and security interests.
Tian further warned that the theatre command will “remain on high alert.” “We will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security, as well as peace and stability in the region,” he said. Tian also warned the US to “immediately stop such provocative actions, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen events.”
7th Fleet Destroyer conducts Freedom of Navigation Operation in South China Seahttps://t.co/IsZdZ5Tmxx pic.twitter.com/6j3qAJ1ead
— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) January 20, 2022
In contrast, the US Navy dismissed the idea that the Benfold had been warned away. Spokesperson Mark Langford of the US 7th Fleet, which is part of the US Navy’s Pacific force, said that China’s “statement about this mission is false.”
However, Washington appeared to confirm that the vessel was operating in the area, saying that the mission reflected the US Navy’s commitment to defend freedom of navigation. The statement from the US navy asserted that the Benfold was simply conducting what the navy calls freedom of navigation operation “in accordance with international law.” The ship then “continued on to conduct normal operations in international waters”.
While this marks the first time that a US warship has trespassed China’s alleged territorial waters in 2022, the act is not unprecedented. Last July, the PLA claimed to have “drove away” the same US warship trespassing the same stretch of water in the South China Sea.
Even then, China had protested the move but the US Navy argued that “under international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, the ships of all states, including their warships, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.” On this basis, the US Navy frequently carries out such missions in the South China Sea to challenge Chinese territorial claims.
The ownership of the Xisha Islands, which are also known as the Paracel Islands, is disputed by Taiwan and Vietnam as well. Despite conflicting claims, China considers the island to be an “inherent territory of China.” Beijing, therefore, views the US’ provocations as a “violation of international law and norms of international relations.”