IRIA News

China has slammed the US for ignoring repeated warnings and allowing one of its destroyers to sail close to artificial islands created by Beijing in the South China Sea. It said the USS Lassen’s actions “damage peace and stability in the region.”

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter says the United States will continue operations in the South China Sea after a US warship entered the disputed waters, provoking Beijing’s anger.

According to Interfax, the statement posted on China’s Foreign Ministry website says, “These actions of the US warship are a threat to the sovereignty and security of China, and safety of people living on the islands; they damage peace and stability in the region. In this regard, the Chinese side expresses extreme dissatisfaction and strongly protests,”

A US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AP on Monday that a US Navy ship had sailed near the artificial islands. The Navy was planning to send one of its destroyers on a patrol route that goes within 12 sea miles of the islands, previous reports stated. The US vessel could have been accompanied by one or two US Navy surveillance planes, which have repeatedly conducted reconnaissance flights in the area, an unnamed US official told Reuters. According to the US Navy, additional patrols could follow in the coming weeks.

The USS Lassen destroyer was scheduled to pass by the Subi and Mischief reefs, which belong to the Spratly archipelago, over which China claims sovereignty. Both reefs were initially submerged before China took up an ambitious dredging project aimed at turning them into islands.

Chinese authorities monitored and followed the US warship when it “illegally” entered the waters near the disputed islands, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The statement stresses that the passage of the American destroyer was made “despite repeated warnings” from Beijing.

“China consistently respects and defends the freedom of navigation and flight of any country in accordance with international law. However, it firmly opposes any country harming [China’s] sovereignty and security under the pretext of freedom of navigation and flight,” Beijing said.

It added: “China resolutely defends its sovereignty, security and rights in the maritime space. The Chinese side is ready to give an appropriate response to any country’s provocations.”

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, “There have been naval operations in that region in recent days, and there will be in the weeks and months,”

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter

“We will fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits, and whenever our operation needs require it,” he added.

The Pentagon chief made the comments when asked about news reports that the US Navy had sent a guided-missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of one of China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea late on Monday.

The move, which was meant to reassure allies in Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines in the face of China’s actions in the Spratly Islands chain, was quickly condemned by Beijing as a “deliberate provocation.”

“We have made a commitment as part of our rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, which is so important to America’s future. We’re doing more at sea. We’re doing more in the way of presence,” Carter told US lawmakers.

Washington accuses Beijing of conducting a massive “land reclamation” program through building artificial islands in the South China Sea, saying that China’s projects could further militarize the region.

The White House had directed Pentagon officials not to publicly address the warship’s movement in waters China considers its territory. As a result, Carter tried to sidestep questions on the matter several times during the congressional hearing.

A Philippine surveillance photo shows an artificial island that China has built on a reef among the Nansha Islands (Spratly) in the South China Sea.

The Foreign Ministry noted that China hopes the US “react properly to this stance, will immediately correct the committed mistakes, and won’t resort to provocative actions that threaten the sovereignty and security of China.“

The US has sent its vessels on similar patrols, which strayed near parts of the Spratly reefs previously built up by Vietnam and the Philippines, Reuters added citing the US Defense Department.

The incident comes weeks ahead of several Asia-Pacific summits scheduled for the second half of November. Both US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend. Under such circumstances, the patrol carries with it a risk of aggravating tensions between the two countries.

China is building several artificial islands in the disputed territory, to host radar stations, airstrips and other facilities. Critics insist they are for military purposes. Beijing argues the military aspect of its reclamation program is minimal and that the islands’ purpose is mostly civilian.

China believes the islands to be its sovereign territory, and strictly considers the 12-mile zone around the islands to be exclusively its territorial waters.