China said two US warships sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea without permission on Monday in the latest US challenge to Beijing's territorial claims in the region.

The Chinese navy asked the US vessels to leave after they entered waters adjacent to Gaven and Chigua reefs in the Spratly Islands, which Beijing calls Nansha, the foreign ministry said.

The move comes on top of trade tensions as President Donald Trump said Sunday he would raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods on Friday because talks were moving "too slowly".

"The relevant actions of the US warships violated China's sovereignty and undermined peace, security and good order in the relevant sea areas," ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press briefing.

"The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the operation, Geng added, noting that the ships had entered "without permission".

The US Navy regularly conducts "freedom of navigation operations" to challenge Beijing's vast claims in the sea.

The People's Liberation Army identified the two US ships as the USS Preble and the USS Chung-Hoon, both guided-missile destroyers.

Air and sea forces were deployed to identify and ask the ships to leave, a spokesman for the PLA's Southern Theatre Command said on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform.

"The (Southern) Theatre troops will maintain a high degree of alert and take all necessary measures to resolutely defend the sovereignty of the country and resolutely safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea," said the spokesman, Li Huamin.

Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the sea, including on the Spratlys.

China claims nearly all of the sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and its adjacent waters. No matter how provocative foreign warships are, this fact cannot be changed," Li said.

Geng said the situation in the sea was "constantly stabilising" due to the "joint efforts" of Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"Under such circumstances, China urges the US to stop such provocative acts, to respect China's sovereignty and security interests, and respect the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea," he said.

"At the same time, China will continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea."

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Pentagon expects China to add international military bases
Washington (AFP) May 2, 2019
The US Defense Department expects China to add military bases around the world to protect its investments in it ambitious One Belt One Road global infrastructure program, according to an official report released Thursday. Beijing currently has just one overseas military base, in Djibouti, but is believed planning others, including possibly Pakistan, as it seeks to project itself as a global superpower. "China's advancement of projects such as the 'One Belt, One Road' Initiative (OBOR) will proba ... read more