The guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance and USS Preble.
GUANGZHOU, Feb. 12 (ChinaMil) -- Senior Colonel Li Huamin, spokesman for the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), urged last night the US to stop its provocative actions in the South China Sea and stressed that the Chinese military will closely monitor the relevant sea and air situations and take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty and security.
Li said that two US Navy warships, guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance and USS Preble, entered the waters adjacent to the Ren'ai Shoal and Meiji Jiao of China's Nansha Islands on the morning of February 11 without permission from the Chinese government. In response, the PLA Southern Theater Command organized its sea and air forces and reef-guarding troops to track and monitor the US warships all the way. They conducted verification and identification on the US destroyers, warned and drove them off China' territorial seas.
Li pointed out that the action by the US side has violated China's laws and relevant international laws, infringed upon China's sovereignty, and endangered regional peace and stability. China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters including Ren'ai Shoal and Meiji Jiao.
Li Huamin urged the US side to stop such provocative actions. He stressed that the troops of the PLA Southern Theater Command will closely monitor the relevant sea and air situations and take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty and security.