U.S. missile destroyer illegally entered Chinese territorial waters in South China Sea, claims Beijing

Published November 25,2023

Subscribe

China claimed on Saturday that the U.S. missile destroyer “Hopper” illegally entered Chinese territorial waters within the South China Sea.

“On November 25, US missile destroyer ‘Hopper’ illegally entered China’s territorial waters in the Xisha Islands without China’s approval,” state-run Global Times quoted the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command spokesperson as saying.

“The PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval and aerial forces to lawfully track, monitor, warn and expel the intruder,” it added.

This week, the U.S. and the Philippines carried out joint air and maritime patrols, involving the 2 air forces and navies, within the disputed waters of the South China Sea, which culminated on Thursday.

Earlier, the official Chinese media mentioned the PLA remained on “high alert” within the South China Sea in the course of the three-day joint U.S.-Philippines air and maritime patrols.

Territorial disputes within the South China Sea contain conflicting island and maritime claims within the area by a number of sovereign states, together with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.