China on Tuesday deployed its naval and air assets in response to a
freedom of navigation operation carried out by the US guided-missile
destroyer USS Benfold in the South China Sea.
A spokesman for China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater
Command reported the US Arleigh Burke-class ship illegally entered an area
near the Paracel Islands, which Beijing calls the Xisha Islands and claims
under its sovereignty.
"The command sent the navy and air force to follow and finally alert the
American warships," said Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for the PLA
Southern Theater Command.
He said the passage of the US warship violated China's sovereignty and
security. He also warned that unless Washington stopped such activities,
the US would suffer serious consequences from unforeseen events.
The US Navy did not immediately comment on the operation, according to
Reuters, but said it would release a statement soon.
The warship USS Benford was previously deployed to conduct a freedom of
navigation operation (FONOP) in early September 2021 near contested
Mischief Reef, which is the target of a massive land reclamation effort by
China.
The South China Sea is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world and
China considers it important to its national security. Various islands
there are claimed by regional powers, including China, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Brunei and the Philippines.
Meanwhile the US does not support any country's claims and regularly
launches FONOP to challenge Beijing's assertion of sovereignty in the
waters.
