China Sends Navy to Monitor US Warship in Disputed South China Sea Waters

China's military announced Tuesday that it dispatched naval forces to monitor a U.S. warship that allegedly "illegally" entered waters near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. Concurrently, Taiwan reported a separate incident involving a standoff with a Chinese vessel in the northern part of the waterway.

The Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command stated that the USS Charleston "illegally intruded" into waters adjacent to Sabina Shoal, located within the Spratly Islands, without prior approval from the Chinese government. The command asserted that this action infringes upon China's sovereign rights and interests, jeopardizes maritime security, and is detrimental to regional peace and stability, urging the U.S. to cease such activities.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, despite overlapping territorial claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Tensions in the region have recently been most pronounced between Beijing and Manila.

A Philippines military spokesperson commented that the U.S. ship "did not trespass into ‘Chinese territory’," emphasizing that no nation possesses the authority to require prior permission for lawful transit through international waters.

This incident follows a prior confrontation last month where, according to the Philippine Coast Guard, a China Coast Guard vessel rammed and damaged a Philippine boat on a refueling mission near the same shoal. China attributed that collision to the Philippine side.

China and the Philippines, which shares a mutual defense treaty with the U.S., both assert sovereignty over Sabina Shoal and the broader Spratly Islands archipelago.

Pratas Islands Standoff

In a separate development occurring in the northern reaches of the South China Sea, Taiwan's Coast Guard reported that a Chinese Coast Guard ship had entered restricted waters near the Pratas Islands, which are under Taiwanese control. Taiwan's Coast Guard stated that its vessel, the "Taichung," was deployed to issue warnings to the Chinese boat, with both vessels exchanging radio messages.

According to Taiwan's Coast Guard, the Chinese ship broadcast a message asserting that "the so-called Republic of China does not exist," referring to Taiwan's official name. In response, the Taiwanese ship broadcast that "the Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign and independent country." The standoff was reportedly ongoing.

The Taiwan Affairs Office in China had not immediately responded to a request for comment. Last week, the office stated that Taiwan must "bear the consequences" after its Coast Guard used a water cannon against a Chinese fishing boat near the Pratas.

The Pratas Islands are situated approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong. Security for the lightly defended islands is managed by Taiwan's Coast Guard.

China has also intensified its coast guard activities around Taiwan, including patrols off the island's eastern coast, raising concerns in Western nations. China regards democratically governed Taiwan as its territory.

During a forum in Taipei on Tuesday, the chair of a review commission appointed by the U.S. Congress described Chinese coast guard patrols east of Taiwan as "highly destabilizing." Taiwan's National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, also speaking at the event, asserted that China holds no legal claim to the waters off Taiwan's eastern coast.