China says it drove away U.S. cruiser close to Spratly Islands By Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s army mentioned on Tuesday it drove away a U.S. guided-missile cruiser that “illegally intruded” into waters close to the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands.

“The actions of the U.S. army significantly violated China’s sovereignty and safety,” mentioned Tian Junli, spokesman for the Southern Theatre Command of the Individuals’s Liberation Military.

The ship in query, the united statesChancellorsville guided missile cruiser, had not too long ago sailed by the Taiwain Strait.

There was no instant remark from the U.S. army.

Tian mentioned the U.S. cruiser’s intrusion confirmed that the US was a “safety danger maker” within the South China Sea and “is one other iron-clad proof of its hegemony within the navigation and militarization of the South China Sea”.

China’s army mentioned its troops would stay on excessive alert, the Southern Theatre Command mentioned on its WeChat social media account.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea and it has turn into considered one of many flashpoints within the testy relationship between it and the US.

The US rejects what it calls China’s illegal territorial claims within the resource-rich waters.

U.S. warships have handed by the South China Sea with growing frequency in recent times, in a present of power towards the Chinese language claims.