China, US exchange accusations over US vessel in South China Sea

China and the United States traded accusations over the weekend over the disputed South China Sea, after China’s navy claimed it had drove away a US destroyer on a normal freedom of navigation operation, according to the US Navy. According to a post on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command’s official WeChat social media account on Saturday, the Chinese military sent its naval and air forces to “track, monitor, and warn away” the US warship. According to the US Navy, the Hopper “asserted navigational rights in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law.” China claims practically the entire South China Sea, which serves as a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship-borne commerce, including areas claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s claims lacked legal foundation. On Saturday, the Philippines and Australia launched their first joint maritime and air patrols in the South China maritime, only days after Beijing accused Manila of enlisting foreign forces to patrol the area, referring to joint patrols by the Philippine and US militaries. This weekend’s incident, China said, “proves that the United States is an out-and-out ‘security risk creator’ in the South China Sea”. Lieutenant Kristina Weidemann, deputy spokesperson for the US 7th Fleet, said in an emailed statement: “The United States challenges excessive maritime claims around the world regardless of the identity of the claimant. “Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas.” Earlier this month, the United States and China held talks on maritime issues, including the contested South China Sea, where the US underscored concerns about what it called “dangerous and unlawful” Chinese actions, the US State Department said.