{"id":23086,"date":"2021-05-20T10:33:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T10:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/20\/china-us-argue-over-naval-activity-in-south-china-sea\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:20:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:20:39","slug":"china-us-argue-over-naval-activity-in-south-china-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/05\/20\/china-us-argue-over-naval-activity-in-south-china-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"China, US argue over naval activity in South China Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIJING \u2014 China on Thursday issued its second protest in as many days<\/a> over United States naval activity in the region, drawing an unusually sharp response from the U.S. Navy\u2019s 7th Fleet, which accused Beijing of attempting to assert illegitimate maritime rights at the expense of its neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A statement from the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2019s Southern Theater Command said the guided-missile destroyer Curtis Wilbur \u201cillegally\u201d intruded into its territorial waters surrounding the Paracel island group in the South China Sea on Thursday. It said Chinese forces mobilized to track and monitor the ship and \u201cwarned and expelled it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Paracels are also claimed by Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China accused the U.S.<\/a> of increasing regional security risks, \u201cmisunderstandings, misjudgments, and accidents at sea.\u201d It called the ship\u2019s maneuvers \u201cunprofessional and irresponsible,\u201d saying Chinese forces were determined to defend the country\u2019s sovereign claims while maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. refuses to recognize China\u2019s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea and regularly conducts what it calls freedom of navigation operations to assert its right to sail in international waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its lengthy response, the 7th Fleet said the operation \u201cupheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the unlawful restrictions on innocent passage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe PLA\u2019s statement about this mission is false. USS Curtis Wilbur was not \u2018expelled\u2019 from any nation\u2019s territory,\u201d the statement said. \u201cUSS Curtis Wilbur conducted this FONOP (freedom of navigation operation) in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations in international waters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that China\u2019s statement asserts its \u201cexcessive and illegitimate maritime claims at the expense of the Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t