BEIJING, July 13 -- "On July 13, the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG-65) trespassed into China's territorial waters off Xisha Islands without Chinese government’s permission. The Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to conduct tracking and monitoring on the US destroyer and warned it off," said Air Force Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesperson for the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command, in a written statement on Wednesday.
The spokesperson pointed out that the US military's move has seriously violated China's sovereignty and security, severely undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea, and breached international law and norms governing international relations. This is yet another irrefutable proof of the US attempt to militarize the South China Sea through maritime hegemony.
“Facts have once again proved that the US is nothing but a ‘security risk maker in the South China Sea’ and a ‘destroyer of regional peace and stability’,” the PLA spokesperson remarked, adding that the troops of the PLA Southern Theater Command will always stay on high alert and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.
