China has protested to the US over the incident
PACIFIC OCEAN (May 18, 2011) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Kidd (DDG 100) and USS Pinckney (DDG 91)are underway in the Pacific Ocean. Kidd and Pinkney are part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group and are participating in a composite training unit exercise off the coast of Southern California. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Carla Ocampo/Released)
China’s defence ministry has accused a US Navy ship of invading Chinese territorial waters off the Paracel Islands. According to a statement issued on Thursday by Tian Junli, spokesman of the Southern Zone of the Combatant Command of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA), the PRC has protested to the US over the incident.
“On May 20, the US destroyer Curtis Wilbur, without obtaining permission from the PRC government, illegally entered the territorial waters of China’s Sisha Archipelago (the Chinese name for the Paracel Islands). According to a PRC defence ministry spokesman, air and naval forces escorted the US ship, gave it a warning and “forced it out” of the waters.
“The Sisha Islands are indigenous Chinese territory. Such actions by the US Armed Forces, as well as their machinations of public opinion coupled with their display of dominance at sea and in the air, are a gross violation of China’s sovereignty and security, and they seriously harm peace and stability in the South China Sea. We strongly protest in this regard”, – he said.
On Wednesday, PLA Eastern Zone Combatant Command spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui strongly protested to the US over the passage of the US destroyer Curtis Wilbur through the Taiwan Strait.
There have been tensions in the South China Sea for years over claims by several countries in the region to the Spratly Archipelago and the neighbouring Paracel Islands. In addition to their strategic location at the crossroads of maritime routes in the Indian and Pacific oceans, the value of the islands is determined by the fact that their shelves, according to experts, hold considerable reserves of oil and minerals. While China and Vietnam are the main protagonists in the dispute over ownership, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines have also made partial or complete claims to the islands and their surrounding waters.