Serious War Pse! PLA Jets and warship Intercepted USS Stethem missile destroyer @ SCS

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https://www.rt.com/news/395005-china...sputed-island/

China dispatches military vessels & fighter jets to warn off US warship sailing near disputed island
Published time: 2 Jul, 2017 16:59
Edited time: 2 Jul, 2017 17:56
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China dispatches military vessels & fighter jets to warn off US warship sailing near disputed island
FIL PHOTO: The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem © U.S. Navy / Wikipedia
China has sent military vessels and warplanes to “warn off” USS Stethem, a guided-missile destroyer, that sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.

“Under the pretext of ‘freedom of navigation,’ the US side once again sent a military vessel into China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands without China's approval,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that such US behavior “violated Chinese law and relevant international law, infringed upon China's sovereignty, and disrupted the peace, security and order of the relevant waters.”

"China dispatched military vessels and fighter planes in response to warn off the US vessel," the statement reads.
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A landing craft launches from the USS Bonhomme Richard amphibious assault ship during Talisman Saber 2017 drills off the coast of Sydney © Jason Reed Saber-rattling: Naval drills, sanctions & weapon sales revive US tensions with China

“The Chinese side is dissatisfied with, and opposed to, the relevant behavior of the US side,” Lu added, saying that the US is "deliberately stirring up troubles in the South China Sea, as well as running in the opposite direction from countries in the region who aspire for stability, cooperation and development.”

The US Navy did not officially confirm the operation. The US Pacific Fleet spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, told Fox News that the fleet conducts “routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future,” without specifically mentioning the Sunday incident.

However, an unidentified US Defense Department official earlier told Reuters that the US Navy destroyer USS Stethem came within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, which is a part of the Paracel Islands located in the South China Sea between China and Vietnam.

The head of US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, recently criticized China’s activity in the region. "China is using its military and economic power to erode the rules-based international order," he said in a speech delivered on Wednesday in Brisbane during the joint US-Australian military exercises.

"Fake islands should not be believed by real people," he added, as reported by Fox News.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said in its recent report that “Beijing has undertaken substantial upgrades of its military infrastructure in the Paracels” and particularly started building new facilities on Triton Island.

It was the second such operation conducted by the US during Donald Trump’s presidency. On May 24, the US Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Dewey, came within 12 miles of the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands – another disputed archipelago that lies in the southern part of the South China Sea.
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FILE PHOTO: USS Sterett © AFP Beijing, Washington flex muscles in South China Sea with separate air & navy exercises

At that time, the Chinese Defense Ministry also sent two frigates to “warn off” the US vessel and said that it was “firmly opposed to the US behavior of showing force and boosting regional militarization.”

The Paracel Islands are contested by China, Taiwan and Vietnam while the Spratlys are also additionally claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. China claims sovereignty over a large part of the South China Sea, a region crucial for China’s maritime trade.

China has already built runways, aircraft hangars, radar sites and hardened surface-to-air missile shelters on its artificially-created islands in the region, according to photos analyzed by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Beijing’s actions have sparked concerns in Washington and the US Navy, which is fiercely opposed to this Chinese initiative, has deployed additional warships in the disputed zone, conducted maneuvers near China’s artificial islands, and flown over them, claiming it has been done in the interest of the “freedom of navigation.”

In response, China called Washington’s involvement in the dispute the “greatest” threat to the region.

In early June, China and the US both held exercises involving air and navy forces, in another episode of confrontation over the disputed South China Sea. The US sent two B-1B Lancer supersonic bombers to fly a 10-hour mission from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, which was conducted in conjunction with the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS Sterett.

A day earlier, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted its own air and navy exercise off Hong Kong. The patrol mission involved three helicopters and two Type 056 corvettes, the Qinzhou and the Huizhou, the Defense Ministry reported.








http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2017...1121250366.htm




外交部：美再次派军舰擅自进入中国西沙群岛领海是严重的政治和军事挑衅
2017-07-03 00:29:56 来源： 新华社
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　　新华社北京7月2日电 外交部发言人陆慷2日就美国“斯特西姆”号导弹驱逐舰擅自进入中国西沙群岛领海事答记者问时表 示，美方再次 派遣军舰擅自进入中国西沙群岛领海是严重的政治和军事挑衅行动，中方对美方有关行径表示强烈不 满和坚决反对 。

　　有记者问：据外电报道，2日，美国“斯特西姆”号导弹驱逐舰进入中国西沙群岛领海。请问中 方对此有何评 论？

　　陆慷说，2日，美国“斯特西姆”号导弹驱逐舰擅自进入中国西沙群岛领海。中国随即派出军舰和战斗机对美舰实施警告驱离。

　　陆慷指出，西沙群岛是中国固有领土。根据《中华人民共和国领海及毗连区法》，中国政府于1 996年公布 了西沙群岛的领海基线。中国有关法律对外国军舰进入中国领海有关事宜作出了明确规定。

　　陆慷说，美方打着“航行自由”的旗号，再次派遣军舰擅自进入中国西沙群岛领海，违反中国法 律及相关国际 法，严重侵犯中国主权，破坏有关海域的和平、安全和良好秩序，危及中方岛上设施及人员安全，是 严重的政治和 军事挑衅行动。中方对美方有关行径表示强烈不满和坚决反对。

　　陆慷表示，当前，在中国和东盟国家的共同努力下，南海局势趋缓降温，并不断呈现积极发展态 势。美方刻意 在南海挑起事端，与地区国家求稳定、促合作、谋发展的共同愿望背道而驰。

　　“中方强烈敦促美方立即停止此类严重侵犯中国主权、威胁中国安全的挑衅行动。中方将继续采 取一切必要措 施捍卫国家主权和安全。”他说。
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