FILE PHOTO: The USS Milius (DDG69) guided-missile destroyer arrives to join the Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNS) at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato
Beijing, China — China condemned on Monday the “illegal” intrusion of a US warship into waters it claims in the South China Sea, after the US Navy said its guided-missile destroyer the USS Milius had sailed through the area.
“Missile destroyer USS Milius illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to the Meiji Reef in China’s Nansha Islands without the approval of the Chinese government,” Tian Junli, spokesman for the Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command, said in a statement, adding Beijing’s air force “followed and carried out surveillance of the vessel”.