On Monday, China’s military asserted that a U.S. warship had entered the waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, an atoll in the disputed South China Sea claimed by China, the Philippines, and other nations.
China’s Southern Theater Command claimed it had dispatched a naval force to track and monitor the USS Gabrielle Giffords, a littoral combat ship designed for nearshore operations. The United States was accused of heightening tensions in the region, with a spokesperson from the Southern Theater Command stating on their official WeChat account, “The U.S. infringes China’s sovereignty and safety, disrupts regional peace and stability and violates international law and the basic norms of international relations.”
In response, the U.S. Navy refuted China’s allegations, stating that the USS Giffords was “conducting routine operations in international waters in the South China Sea, consistent with international law.” Kristina Wiedemann, deputy public affairs officer, emphasized the ongoing commitment of the U.S. 7th Fleet to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
China asserts expansive territorial claims over the South China Sea, a crucial shipping route abundant in natural resources. Despite a 2016 United Nations tribunal ruling that rejected China’s legal basis for its claims, the country continues to maintain its position. Other nations, including Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, also assert territorial claims, leading to disputes in the region.
The 2016 ruling determined that the Second Thomas Shoal falls entirely within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, a fact not acknowledged by Beijing. Recent months have witnessed multiple confrontations between China and the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, as China sought to impede the resupplying of a warship intentionally grounded by the Philippine government in 1999, serving as a military outpost.
You can also read: Streaker Arrested at Disneyland’s ‘It’s a Small World’
In a separate development, the Philippines deployed two coast guard vessels to a reef off its coast over the weekend, citing Chinese vessels swarming the area. China’s Foreign Ministry defended its actions, claiming the reef as Chinese territory and asserting that the presence of Chinese fishing vessels in the region was both “reasonable and lawful.”