BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. warship's sail-by of a South China Sea island is the country's latest military provocation and increased the risk of military misjudgment in the region.
Without permission of the Chinese government, guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence on Tuesday sailed within 12 nautical miles of Yongshu Jiao in the Nansha Islands, threatening people and property.
China deployed two navy fighter jets, one early-warning aircraft and three ships to track and warn off the destroyer.
It is the third "freedom of navigation" action by U.S. warships in recent months.
In October last year, USS Lassen entered waters near Zhubi Reef without the permission of the Chinese government and in January USS Curtis Wilbur did the same thing near the Zhongjian Dao.
It is absurd for Pentagon spokesman Bill Urban to say the operation was a direct challenge to "excessive maritime claims of some claimants in the South China Sea," and describe these claims as inconsistent with international law. How can the United States condemned China by quoting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a treaty it refuses to recognize?
Read the full story at Xinhua