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China accuses US of 'illegal' entry in South China Sea territory

US actions in South China Sea disrupt peace, violate sovereignty, and undermine international law, China has said.

Chinese militia vessels operate at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, December 2, 2023.
/ Photo: Reuters — Reuters

Chinese militia vessels operate at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, December 2, 2023. / Photo: Reuters

The Chinese military has said that an American naval ship had “illegally intruded” into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, the site of a hot territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

A Chinese naval force was mobilised on Monday to track the USS Gabrielle Giffords during the operation, according to a statement from the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater. The US Navy did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Chinese and Philippine naval and coast guard ships have confronted each other repeatedly around the Second Thomas Shoal in recent months as China tries to prevent the Philippines from resupplying and repairing a rusting warship that it intentionally ran aground in 1999 to serve as a military outpost.

Dwarfed by China’s military might, the Philippines has sought America's help, agreeing to an expansion of the US military presence in the country earlier this year and launching joint sea and air patrols with the United States late last month.

Philippines raises alarm over China's 'dangerous' actions in South China Sea

'Violation of international law'

China says the US is meddling in waters far from its shores and renewed its accusation that America is the one raising regional tensions following the sailing of the USS Giffords, a littoral combat ship designed to operate in coastal areas, near Second Thomas Shoal.

"The US deliberately disrupted the situation in the South China Sea, seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, seriously undermined regional peace and stability, and seriously violated international law and basic norms governing international relations, fully demonstrating that the US is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea," the statement from the Chinese military's Southern Theater said.

China has staked claim to virtually all of the reefs and other outcroppings in the South China Sea, building some into islands with runways that could be used by the military. Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also say they are the rightful owners of territory in the same waters in a complex web of overlapping claims.