Chinese forces followed and warned away a U.S. warship which entered waters near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the country's military said on Thursday, but the U.S. Navy denied the ship had been warned off.
The Southern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army said the USS Benfold "illegally" sailed into Chinese territorial waters without permission, violating the country's sovereignty, and that Chinese naval and air forces tracked the ship.
"The PRC's statement about this mission is false," 7th Fleet spokesman Mark Langford said in a statement. The 7th Fleet is part of the U.S. Navy's Pacific force. The U.S. Navy frequently carries out such missions in the South China Sea to challenge Chinese territorial claims. China has established military outposts on artificial islands in the waters of the South China Sea, which are crossed by vital shipping lanes and also contain gas fields and rich fishing grounds.
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