China scrambles jets as US guided-missile destroyers scope secret military bases
US President Donald Trump incurred the wrath of Beijing after a pair of US Navy warships sailed close to a chain of islands claimed by China – prompting a warning that it would “take all measures necessary” to protect its sovereignty.
By CIARAN MCGRATH
Express.co.uk
Sun, May 27, 2018
In a furious statement, China’s Defence Ministry accused the US of “seriously infringing on its sovereignty”, and warned them to leave.
It said the move “contravened Chinese and relevant international law, seriously infringed upon Chinese sovereignty and harmed strategic mutual trust between the two militaries.”
A separate statement issued by China’s Foreign Ministry urged the United States to stop such actions.
It added that it “will continue to take all necessary measures to defend the country’s sovereignty and security”.
The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.
While the operation had been planned months in advance, and similar operations have become routine, it comes at a particularly sensitive time and just days after the Pentagon “uninvited” China from a major US-hosted naval drill.
US officials, speaking to the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity, said the Higgins guided-missile destroyer and the Antietam, a guided-missile cruiser, came within 12 nautical miles of the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals known as the South China Islands, over which China has ongoing territorial disputes with its neighbours.
The ships carried out manoeuvring operations near Tree, Lincoln, Triton and Woody islands in the Paracels, one of the officials said.
The incursion triggered the scrambling of Chinese fighter jets and re-directing of their warships, according to sources.
The Rest…HERE
