{"id":17487,"date":"2018-01-20T14:44:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-20T14:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/20\/china-says-us-warship-violated-sovereignty-near-scarborough\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:10:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:10:04","slug":"china-says-us-warship-violated-sovereignty-near-scarborough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/20\/china-says-us-warship-violated-sovereignty-near-scarborough\/","title":{"rendered":"China says US warship violated sovereignty near Scarborough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIJING \u2014 The Chinese government on Saturday accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China would take \u201cnecessary measures\u201d to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China\u2019s permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012. Known in Chinese as Huangyan Island, it lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, and about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope that the U.S. respects China\u2019s sovereignty, respects the efforts by regional countries and do not make trouble out of nothing,\u201d Wu said in a statement on the ministry\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\t