Expelled trespassing US destroyer off Xisha Islands, claims China

Beijing [China], March 25 : The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) expelled a United States destroyer when it "trespassed" into Chinese territorial waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, Global Times reported.

Global Times reported that "without any authorization from the Chinese government, guided missile destroyer the USS Milius on Thursday made an illegal intrusion into Chinese territorial waters off the Xisha Islands, sabotaging the peace and stability in the South China Sea", Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson at the PLA Southern Theater Command stated in a press release.

Global Times, wrote on the behalf of Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson at the PLA Southern Theater Command that the PLA Southern Theater Command orgzed naval and air forces, tracked, monitored and warned away the US warship in accordance with the law.

Command troops will stay on high vigilance at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea, the spokesperson said, Global Times reported.

Launching an immediate response, the PLA displayed counter-foreign provocations, including those from the US, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator the publication reported on Thursday.

In late February, a US P-8A spy plane took a group of US reporters on a close-in reconnaissance operation over the South China Sea, during which it was warned away by a PLA fighter jet when it came close to Chinese airspace around the Xisha Islands, claimed Global Times.

This latest US warship trespass and the P-8A media tour are a combo move aimed at hyping the "China threat" in the South China Sea and throwing mud at China, Song said.

From a military point of view, these types of close-in reconnaissance operations are also carried out under a tactical consideration in preparation for potential military conflict, the expert warned.