China on Friday scolded the US for sending naval vessels close to disputed islands in the South China Sea on which Beijing has built military installations.
The US and its allies periodically send planes and warships through the area to conduct “freedom of navigation” operations, intended as a signal to Beijing of their right under international law to pass through the waters claimed by China.
The Pentagon said that the USS Chancellorsville guided-missile destroyer on Monday sailed near the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) “to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law.”
The Chinese military scrambled aircraft and warships, sending out warnings for the US vessel to leave the area.
“We urge the US to strengthen the management of its vessels and aircraft that pass by Chinese territory to prevent unexpected events,” People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre spokesman Li Huamin (李華敏) said in a statement.
China has also lodged a diplomatic complaint with Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said during a regular media briefing, calling on the US to “immediately stop such provocative actions that violate China’s sovereignty.”
The Paracel Islands are claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam and China.
It was the second US naval operation to irk China this week.
Two US ships on Wednesday sailed through the Taiwan Strait — which China considers its territory, but the US and others see as international waters open to all — prompting a furious Beijing to send warships and fighter jets. This was the third such operation this year, including one last month which prompted a diplomatic protest.
“US Forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis, including the South China Sea,” the Pentagon statement read. “All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in