(NBC) – China’s military has said it “expelled” a U.S. navy vessel from the hotly contested waters of the South China Sea this week. It said the “USS Barry” had illegally entered China’s Xisha territorial waters on Tuesday. China’s Southern Theater army command “organized sea and air forces to track, monitor, verify, and identify the U.S. ships throughout the journey, and warned and expelled them,” said Chinese military spokesperson Li Huamin, in a statement.
“The provocative actions of the United States seriously violated relevant international law norms, seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security interests, artificially increased regional security risks, and were prone to cause unexpected incidents,” he said. NBC News reached out to American officials who were not immediately available for comment overnight.
The South China Sea is a potentially energy-rich stretch of water and home to more than 200 specks of land. It serves as a gateway to global sea routes where approximately $3.4 trillion of trade passes annually. The numerous overlapping sovereign claims to islands, reefs and rocks — many of which disappear under high tide .. READ MORE
