China says it chased a US destroyer into the disputed Paracels waters

On Thursday, March 23, the Chinese military said it had pursued a US warship it had captured “I entered illegally” In an archipelago it controls in the South China Sea. This account is judged for facts “He lies” by the United States. The destroyer USS Milius had penetrated the area without the consent of the Chinese authorities. In Paracel Waters, according to a statement from Tian Junli, spokesperson for the Chinese military’s southern theater of operations. “Navy and air forces have been mobilized to track, monitor, warn and remove this vessel from the area.”pointed out.

The spokesman denounced the American maneuver, which he said “It undermines peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Confirmed that the army “It remains on guard and will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty.”.

This incident comes in the context of a struggle for influence between Beijing and Washington in this maritime region and strong competition on several other issues: Taiwan, Tik Tok, and the treatment of the Uyghur minority. Paracel, an archipelago equidistant from the Chinese and Vietnamese coasts, is disputed between Beijing and Hanoi. The Chinese Navy regained control of all the islands in 1974 after a maritime dispute.

“The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.”

“The statement of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is misleading”said a spokesperson for the US Army’s Indo-Pacific Command. USS Milius […] He conducts routine operations in the South China Sea and has not been turned away. The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.”pointed out.

China claims to have been the first country to discover and name the islands of the South China Sea, through which much of the trade between Asia and the rest of the world passes today. Thus, it claims a large part of the islands of this marine area. But other riparian states (the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei) have competing claims to sovereignty.

Each country controls many islands and atolls, particularly in the Spratly Archipelago, farther south, where incidents are more frequent than in the Paracels. The United States regularly conducts operations in the South China Sea called “freedom of navigation”sending warships to challenge Chinese claims.

Beijing has strengthened its control over some of the islands and atolls in this marine area over the past decade, carrying out expansion work and building military facilities there.