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China, US cry crime and misdemeanour as warship tests Beijing’s new law at Mischief Reef
- China says USS Benfold breached its sovereignty near disputed reef, but US slams ‘latest in a long string of actions to misrepresent’ lawful sea operations
- Incident comes days after Beijing revised a law to demand notification from foreign vessels entering its claimed waters
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The United States and China have traded accusations after an American warship sailed near a disputed South China Sea reef, in what an expert called the first challenge to Beijing’s new regulation aimed at strengthening its maritime claims.
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The Chinese military said the US guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold on Wednesday entered what it called China’s territorial waters near Mischief Reef, in the disputed Spratly Islands, without the approval of the Beijing government. The US Navy later accused China of misrepresenting its lawful maritime operations.
It was the first flashpoint since Beijing introduced a regulation requiring notification from foreign vessels entering its claimed territorial waters. Observers said the rule was unlikely to be obeyed by countries challenging those claims, and would be difficult to implement.
Occupied and controlled by China, Mischief Reef is also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.
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Chinese fishing boats return to disputed South China Sea after summer moratorium ends
Chinese fishing boats return to disputed South China Sea after summer moratorium ends
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “organised air and naval forces to track, monitor and expel the vessel”, said Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for the Southern Theatre Command.
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