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 track and monitor it, sent warnings and drove it away," 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 have seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, seriously undermined the peace and stability of the South China Sea, and seriously violated international law and norms of international relations. This is yet another irrefutable proof of the US attempt to militarize the South China Sea through maritime hegemony.
“Facts once again show that the United States is an out-and-out ‘creator of security risks in the South China Sea’ and ‘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.
