China warns off US warship sailing close to Spratly islands

China’s army forces have "warned off" a US guided-missile destroyer from the South China Sea, describing Washington as the “biggest destroyer of peace” in the region.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold “trespassed in China's territorial waters near the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea."

Naval and air forces of the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command "conducted whole-process tracking and monitoring and warned off the US destroyer," the ministry added.

The US actions “seriously violated Chinese sovereignty and security, which is further solid evidence of its navigational hegemony and aggressive militarization” of the sea, said Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for the command.

Back in July, the Benfold passed through the Taiwan Strait, in another move that China routinely condemns as a provocation.

Just days earlier, China imposed a law requiring foreign vessels to give notice before entering its territorial waters. China claims the South China Sea in its entirety.

SS