A Chinese warship has forced an American destroyer to change course in the South China Sea by sailing close to it in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner, the US Navy says.<\/p>\n
The USS Decatur was sailing past the Gaven and Johnson reefs in the disputed Spratly Islands, which China claims.<\/p>\n
The Luyang destroyer “approached within 45 yards [41m] of Decatur’s bow”, Commander Nat Christensen said.<\/p>\n
The US routinely angers Beijing with “freedom of navigation” missions.<\/p>\n
The sea, home to vital shipping lanes, has in recent years become a flashpoint for tensions between China and several regional nations which have overlapping claims over islands and reefs.<\/p>\n
Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all make claims to parts of the sea.<\/p>\n
China, however, claims a huge area, known as the “nine-dash line”, and routinely accuses the US Navy of provocation and interference in regional matters.<\/p>\n
The USS Decatur travelled within 12 nautical miles of the Gaven and Johnson Reefs on Sunday. International law says states can claim territorial seas up to a limit of 12 nautical miles but the US sails within that distance to show that it does not recognise China’s claims<\/p>\n
The Chinese manoeuvre almost caused a collision, US officials said.<\/p>\n
“The US side repeatedly sends military ships without permission into seas close to South China Seas islands, seriously threatening China’s sovereignty and security, seriously damaging Sino-US military ties and seriously harming regional peace and stability,” China’s defence ministry said.<\/p>\n
The latest incident comes amid worsening trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, who have been imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s goods.<\/p>\n
The US also recently imposed sanctions on the Chinese military over its purchases of Russian military jets and surface-to-air missiles.<\/p>\n
China has reportedly cancelled a security meeting later this month with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.<\/p>\n