Beijing Slams US Sail-by In South China Sea

Beijing said on Monday that two US warships sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea without permission on Monday in the latest US challenge to China's territorial claims in the region.

The PLA navy asked the US vessels to leave after they entered waters adjacent to reefs in the Spratly Islands, the Foreign Ministry said.

The move comes on top of trade tensions after President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese goods on Friday because talks were moving "too slowly".

"The relevant actions of the US warships violated China's sovereignty and undermined peace, security and good order in the relevant sea areas," ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press briefing.

"The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the operation, Geng added, noting that the ships had entered "without permission".

The US Navy regularly conducts "freedom of navigation operations" to challenge Beijing's vast claims in the sea.

The People's Liberation Army identified the two US ships as the USS Preble and the USS Chung-Hoon, both guided-missile destroyers.

Air and sea forces were deployed to identify and ask the ships to leave, a spokesman for the PLA's Southern Theatre Command said on Weibo.

"The (Southern) Theatre troops will maintain a high degree of alert and take all necessary measures to resolutely defend the sovereignty of the country and resolutely safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea," said PLA spokesman, Li Huamin.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and its adjacent waters. No matter how provocative foreign warships are, this fact cannot be changed," Li said. (AFP)