Us Destroyer Sails Near Disputed South China Sea Islands China Says Pushed Ship Away

The United States regularly conducts what it calls Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea challenging restrictions on innocent transit imposed by China and other claimants. The US Navy said the USS Benfold “claimed rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, in accordance with international law.” “Illegal and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded trade, and freedom of economic opportunity for the littoral nations of the South China Sea” . China says it is not blocking freedom of navigation or overflight, accusing the United States of deliberately stoking tensions. The People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command said the US ship’s actions seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security by illegally entering China’s territorial waters around the Paracels, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. “The PLA Southern Theater Command organized sea and air forces to follow, monitor, warn and remove” the ship, he added, showing photos of the Benfold taken from the deck of the Chinese frigate Xianning. “Events show once again that the United States is nothing but a ‘creator of security risk in the South China Sea’ and a ‘destroyer of regional peace and stability.’ China gained control of the Paracel Islands from the then South Vietnamese government in 1974. Monday marked the sixth anniversary of an international court’s ruling invalidating China’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea, a conduit for shipping trade worth about $3 trillion each year. China never accepted the decision. China claims almost the entire South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei all have competing and often overlapping claims. China has built artificial islands in some of its holdings in the South China Sea, including airports, raising regional concerns about Beijing’s intentions. Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.