US Destroyer Enters Waters Near China's Artificial Islands in South China Sea... China Claims "Sovereignty Violation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Local media reported on the 8th that China strongly protested as a 'sovereignty infringement' after a US warship entered the waters near a reef artificially created as an island in the South China Sea.

According to a statement by Tian Junli, spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, on that day, the US missile destroyer USS Benfold entered the waters near Mischief Reef (Chinese name Meijijiao) in the Spratly Islands (Chinese name Nansha, Vietnamese name Truong Sa, Philippine name Kalayaan). Spokesperson Tian stated that the US action was illegal without China's approval, and the Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to track, monitor, and issue warnings for withdrawal.

Mischief Reef is one of the reefs in the southern Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, where territorial disputes exist between China and Southeast Asian countries. China reclaimed the surrounding area and developed it into an artificial island measuring 5.66 square kilometers.

China claims this artificial island as its territory and asserts that the surrounding 12 nautical miles are its territorial waters, but the United States does not recognize this.

Spokesperson Tian Junli claimed that "the US actions seriously infringe upon China's sovereignty and security and are yet another clear proof of militarization of the South China Sea."

He said, "China holds indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters," and "the Southern Theater Command maintains a high level of vigilance, firmly safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and peace in the South China Sea region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.