A sailor strolls the deck of the USS Milius while docked in Manila, Philippines, in a file picture from 2012.
Noel Celis|Afp|Getty Images
China’s defense ministry stated on Friday that it yet once again needed to keep track of and repel the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Milius that entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.
“We sternly demand the U.S. to immediately stop such provocative acts, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen incidents,” a representative stated in a declaration from the Ministry of National Defense.
The U.S. Navy stated the guided-missile destroyer was asserting its navigational rights and flexibilities.
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations,” the U.S. Navy Seventh fleet stated in an emailed declaration.
U.S. forces run in the South China Sea daily, the U.S. Navy stated.
It was the 2nd straight day of a stand-off in between the 2 very powers in the middle of growing stress in the South China Sea
China declares huge swathes of the location that overlap with special financial zones of numerous nations consisting of thePhilippines Trillions of dollars in trade circulation every year through the waterway.
