China says it drove away US cruiser near Spratly Islands

China’s military said it dispatched a ship to the South China Sea to guide away a US cruiser that “seriously violated” its security and sovereignty and accused Washington of being a “security risk maker” in the region.

China’s military said a US cruiser that “illegally intruded” into waters near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea was closely monitored and then guided away, according to Yahoo News.

“The actions of the US military seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security,” said Tian Junli, a spokesperson for the Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army.

He added that the US cruiser’s intrusion showed Washington was a “security risk maker” in the South China Sea.

The incident was “another iron-clad proof of its hegemony in the navigation and militarisation of the South China Sea,” he said.

On its WeChat social media account, the Chinese military later said that its troops will remain on high alert after the incident.

While there has been no official statement by the US military yet, Reuters reported that the USS Chancellorsville guided missile cruiser had recently sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

US warships passing through the South China Sea have received backlash from China, which claims the waters as its own.

The US, on the other hand, has consistently rejected China’s claims on the strategic waterways.

In recent months, confrontations in the region have increased.

Last week, a Philippine military commander said the Chinese coast guard had forcibly seized floating debris the Philippine navy was towing to its island, in another confrontation in the disputed region.

The incident came ahead of US vice president Kamala Harris’s scheduled visit to Palawan province, which faces the South China Sea, this week.

With the visit, she will become the highest-ranking US official to visit the frontier island at the forefront of the territorial dispute involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.