China drives away US guided-missile cruiser: Military

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Nov 2022 08:28

The Chinese military condemns the US ships' entry into the waters around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, describing it as a violation of China's sovereignty.

Chinese military on high alert after US cruiser incursion

China's military announced on Tuesday it drove away a US guided-missile cruiser that intruded into waters near the South China Sea's Spratly Islands.

"The actions of the US military seriously violated China's sovereignty and security," said Tian Junli, spokesman for the Southern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army.

Reports suggest that the USS Chancellorsville guided missile cruiser had recently sailed through the Taiwan Strait. However, there was no comment from the US military.

Junli said the US cruiser's intrusion proved that the United States was risking security in the South China Sea and "is another iron-clad proof of its hegemony in the navigation and militarization of the South China Sea."

The Chinese military said its troops would remain on high alert, the Southern Theatre Command announced on its WeChat social media account.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea and it has become one of many flashpoints in the relationship between it and the United States.

It is worth noting that US warships have passed through the South China Sea with increasing frequency in recent years, in a show of force against China.

For a while now, the US and China have shared strained ties, especially after the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, made a provocative trip to Taiwan.

On August 28, the Chinese Military was on high alert after US warships entered the Taiwan Strait.

A spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), Shi Yi, said the Chinese armed forces are on high alert to halt any provocations after the US Navy cruisers went through the Taiwan Strait.

"The US Navy cruisers Chancellorsville and Antietam made the passage through the Taiwan Strait on August 28, causing widespread attention. The PLA Eastern Theater Command escorted the US cruisers and exercised full control over their activities. Command units are on heightened alert to stop any provocations in a timely manner," the spokesman said in a statement on WeChat.