South China Sea: US Navy rejects PLA claims of ‘illegally’ sailing near disputed Paracel Islands

Chinese sea and air forces monitored and issued warnings to drive away the USS Milius, PLA Southern Theatre Command says
Guided-missile destroyer was ‘not expelled’, US Navy 7th Fleet counters, citing ‘routine operations’ in line with international law

South China Sea

Cyril Ip

Published: 7:00pm, 23 Mar 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

The Chinese military says it drove away a US warship after it “illegally” sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, a claim rejected by the US Navy.

The USS Milius, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, “illegally broke into” the waters around the archipelago “without the Chinese government’s approval”, the People’s Liberation Army said on Thursday.

Chinese sea and air forces followed, monitored and issued warnings to the US warship, driving it away from the area, the PLA Southern Theatre Command said, describing the passage as “undermining peace and stability”.

“Theatre troops will maintain a high level of alert at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security, as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea,” it said.

China says US infringed on its sovereignty after warship sails near Paracels

However, the United States Navy disputed that claim, saying the USS Milius was “conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and was not expelled”.

“The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,” a statement from the US Navy 7th Fleet said.

Known as the Xisha Islands in China, the Paracels consist of about 130 small coral islands and reefs covering an area of 7.75 sq km (3 square miles). Vietnam and Taiwan are among the rival claimants, but Beijing has de facto control.

The US Indo-Pacific Command’s Twitter account in recent days has shared photos from multiple exercises in contested regional waters, including the Philippine Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

The USS Milius is a frequent visitor to the Taiwan Strait alongside other American warships like the USS Benfold, which last sailed near the Paracels in July, and the USS Chancellorsville, which entered the disputed Spratly Islands in November.

The Chinese military said it warned both vessels away.

Beijing routinely condemns US operations in the South China Sea as provocative, while Washington claims they are freedom of navigation passages consistent with international law. The resource-rich and busy waterway is often flagged as a potential flashpoint in the geopolitical tussle between the two rival powers.

Manila, US eye joint South China Sea patrols to counter Beijing’s ‘aggression’

Tensions spiked again last month as the Philippines – a US treaty ally – said it would allow rotating batches of US forces to stay indefinitely in four new military camps, in addition to five local bases earlier designated under a 2014 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Locations for the new bases include areas in the northern Philippines, facing the South China Sea and providing US forces with a staging ground close to southern mainland China and Taiwan.

China’s foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong is on an official trip to Manila and met his Philippine counterpart Theresa Lazaro on Thursday.

Sun will seek to advance cooperation while “properly handling” maritime disputes, and exchange views on international and regional issues, the Chinese foreign ministry said ahead of his visit.