China-US tension at sea!

China claimed that the ship named "USS Gabrielle Giffords" "illegally entered" the area known as the "Second Thomas Shoal", while the US argued that the ship's navigation was "routine activity in international waters". In a statement, the Southern Front Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army claimed that the US warship "seriously violated China's sovereignty and security" by entering the region "without authorisation". "The US action is contrary to international law and the basic norms governing international relations," the statement claimed:

"This has clearly demonstrated that the US is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea." In the statement made by the US 7th Fleet in the Pacific, it was stated that the ship's navigation was "an activity in accordance with international law within the framework of the rights and freedom of navigation". "These operations demonstrate commitment to the idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific, where the sovereignty of all countries, large and small, is secure, can resolve their disputes without coercion, and have freedom of navigation and overflight consistent with international laws, rules and norms," the statement said.

SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS The South China Sea has been the subject of sovereignty disputes since the littoral countries gained their independence after World War II. China claims sovereignty over 80 per cent of the South China Sea with the map first published in 1947. Coastal neighbouring countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia also claim rights in the region. The sovereignty disputes over islets, reefs, rocks and sea dykes in the region, especially the Paracel and Spratly Islands, lead to tensions between the countries from time to time. China's construction of military bases and long-term presence of civilian ship fleets on the disputed islands are opposed by the US as well as the countries in the region. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled that China's unilateral sovereignty claims in the South China Sea were illegal.