China’s navy said on Thursday it had tracked and driven out a U.S. destroyer that unlawfully entered waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Milius violated Chinese territorial waters, according to a statement from the military, jeopardizing peace and security in the busy waterway.
According to Tian Junli, a spokeswoman for China’s Southern Theatre Command, “the theater forces will maintain a high state of readiness at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
The U.S. Navy on Thursday disputed the Chinese military statement, saying the destroyer is conducting “routine operations” in the South China Sea and was not expelled.
“The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,” a statement from the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet said.
Tension between the United States and China has been growing in the area.
The United States has been shoring up alliances in the Asia-Pacific seeking to counter China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing seeks to advance its territorial claims.