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South China Sea: PLA forces tail US warship near disputed Spratly Islands as live-fire drills around Taiwan enter day 3
- Guided-missile destroyer USS Milius ‘illegally intruded’ into waters near Mischief Reef, PLA Southern Theatre Command says
- US Navy statement claims freedom of navigation, says the reef, a low-tide elevation in its natural state, is not entitled to a territorial sea
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Vanessa Caiin Shanghai
The People’s Liberation Army said it followed and monitored a US warship after it “illegally” passed close to the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, as Chinese military drills around Taiwan entered their third and final day.
The USS Milius, a guided-missile destroyer of the US Navy, had “illegally intruded” into waters near Mischief Reef in the Spratlys, without the approval of the Chinese government, according to the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea and their nearby waters, and troops in the theatre maintain a high state of readiness at all times to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security, and peace and stability in the South China Sea,” command spokesman Tian Junli said.
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The Spratly Islands, known as the Nansha Islands in China, are a contested archipelago wholly or partly claimed by six regional governments.
Mischief Reef, located to the east of the island group, has been controlled and built-up by Beijing since 1994, but the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim sovereignty.
The PLA “organised naval and air forces to follow, monitor and stay on alert during the whole process” as the USS Milius sailed near the reef, Tian said.
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