An incursion by a US warship in Chinese territorial waters on Saturday is the latestattempt by Washington to return tension to the South China Sea and encourage moreregional stakeholders to challenge China, according to observers.
They made the comments after the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer,intruded into the territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands.
Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute,said the South China Sea situation had been eased for some time before the latestoutspoken remarks and intrusion by Washington. One of the US' goals is to bring tensionback to the region, Zhang said.
Renewing the tension will also showcase support for countries such as the Philippines andVietnam, encouraging them to take more provocative actions against China on the SouthChina Sea, Zhang said.
"In the long run, Washington still defines the South China Sea issue as a tool to containChina,"Zhang added.
Liang Fang, a professor of naval studies at the PLA National Defense University, saidWashington aims to test Beijing's bottom line on the sea and is also attempting to defyChina's sovereignty over the waters.
China should stick to its construction plan for the South China Sea and take furthercountermeasures in case of provocation, Liang said.
In recent years, the United States has sent warships and aircraft into Chinese waters andairspace a number of times, leading to brushes between the two militaries.
The People's Liberation Army warned the vessel on Saturday and succeeded in driving itaway, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Yang Yujun said in a statement onSaturday night.
"Chinese troops stationed on the islands, naval ships and airplanes made an immediateresponse, took countermeasures and conducted identification and verification (action)against the US warship,"Yang said.
The US action was "a serious violation of law"and damaged the peace and security of theSouth China Sea, Yang said.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Saturday that under a Chinese lawenacted in 1992, foreign warships entering China's territorial waters must obtain approvalfrom the Chinese government.
The Chinese military will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard nationalsovereignty and security regardless of provocative actions by the US, Yang said.
Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, drew criticism from Beijing onWednesday when he told a think tank in Washington that the US will continue tochallenge China's position on the South China Sea. Harris also said that in his opinion"those islands do not belong to China”.
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