The Navy issued a statement Thursday disputing a claim that Chinese forces expelled the USS Curtis Wilbur from the Taiwan Strait this week.

On Tuesday, the guided-missile destroyer sailed the Taiwan Strait in what the Navy described as a "routine transit in accordance with international law."

The People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command later issued a statement that the PLA had "expelled" the ship the area, USNI News reported.

"The PLA's statement about this mission is false," 7th Fleet officials said in a press release on Thursday.

"USS Curtis Wilbur was not 'expelled' from any nation's territory. USS Curtis Wilbur conducted this FONOP [freedom of navigation operation] in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations in international waters."

A Thursday statement on from the Chinese military quoted Tian Junli, spokesperson for the PLA Southern Theater Command, saying the Wilbur trespassed into the waters of the Xisha Islands -- also known as the Paracel Islands -- and that Chinese forces warned the vessel off.

"The Xisha Islands are China's inherent territory. The behavior of the U.S. military is its old trick of 'hybrid manipulation' -- to practice navigation hegemony and at the meantime, mislead public opinion," said Tian.

The United States has continuously disputed China's claim on the islands, and reiterated that in Thursday's statement.

"China, Taiwan, and Vietnam each claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands. All three claimants require either permission or advance notification before a military vessel or warship engages in 'innocent passage' through the territorial sea," Navy officials noted.

"Under international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, the ships of all States -- including their warships -- enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea," Navy officials said.

China says US 'creating risks' with South China Sea warship sail-bys
Beijing (AFP) May 20, 2021 - China on Thursday branded the United States an "out-and-out security risk creator" in the South China Sea, after an American warship sailed through waters near the disputed Paracel Islands.

Tensions in maritime waters claimed by both China and many of its neighbours have ratcheted up recently, with Beijing staging live-fire drills and sending hundreds of fishing vessels to a reef claimed by the Philippines.

China's military said the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer, was warned and driven away from the contested waters near the islands, which are claimed by China.

US actions "increase regional security risks, which easily causes misunderstandings, misjudgements and unforeseen maritime incidents", People's Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command spokesman Colonel Tian Junli said in a notice posted on social media.

"This is unprofessional and irresponsible, and fully demonstrates that the US is an out-and-out 'South China Sea security risk creator'."

Beijing on Wednesday had chastised Washington for sailing the USS Curtis Wilbur through the Taiwan Strait earlier this week.

The US Seventh Fleet described it as a "routine" transit.

The United States frequently conducts what it calls "Freedom of Navigation Operations" in the flashpoint waterway.

The South China Sea and its various islands are claimed by multiple countries including China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines. It is home to some of the world's most resource-rich waterways.

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

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USS Curtis Wilbur transits Taiwan Strait
Washington DC (UPI) May 18, 2021
The USS Curtis Wilbur transited the Taiwan Strait Tuesday, the Navy announced. A press release described the trip as a routine transit in accordance with international law, and said it "demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific." This is at least the second trip the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile has taken through the Taiwan Strait this year, the first being a freedom-of-navigation transit in February. Other recent transits in the region - such as the U ... read more