Beijing monitoring US warship near disputed shoal in South China Sea

China on Tuesday accused the U.S. military of “illegally” entering waters around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, saying it had sent its own forces to watch a Navy ship.

China has claimed roughly 90 percent of the South China Sea as its own territory, leading to disputes with the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and other Indo-Pacific nations.

To demonstrate the vital shipping and economic corridor is not under Beijing’s sole control, the U.S. has sailed its warships through the area in so-called “freedom of navigation operations.” The last such known mission in the South China Sea took place more than a year ago.

But the Chinese military asserted that in the early hours of Tuesday, the USS Charleston littoral combat ship “illegally intruded” into waters adjacent to Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without approval from the Chinese government, according to a statement.

China’s Southern Theater Command Navy “dispatched forces to track and monitor the U.S. vessel in accordance with laws and regulations,” it said.

“The U.S. action infringes upon China’s sovereign rights and interests, jeopardizes maritime security, and is detrimental to regional peace and stability,” China said in the statement, which demands that Washington “should immediately cease such activities.”

The Pentagon and Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

A Philippines’ military spokesperson, however, told Reuters that the U.S. ship “did not trespass into ‘Chinese territory’,” and that no nation had the authority to need prior permission for “lawful transit through international waters.”

Tensions between China and the Philippines remain constant over a disagreement as to the sovereignty of Sabina Shoal and the Spratly Islands archipelago.

The two nations were involved in an altercation last month when a Chinese Coast Guard ship rammed a Philippine boat near Sabina Shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard claims. China disputes the account, blaming the Philippines for the collision.