China’s defence ministry said it banished the vessel after describing the American patrol as an act of “trespass”. The islands, claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam, sit in the middle of the highly contested South China Sea and are regular pawns in the territorial debate.
The US Navy’s guided missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer sailed near the Parcels, known as the Xisha in China and Hoang Sa in Vietnam.
According to Senior Colonel Li Huamin, spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Southern Theatre Command, the ship sailed “without the permission of the Chinese government”.
In order to assert its dominance, Li explained that the PLA Navy and Air Force shadowed, identified, monitored, warned and eventually expelled the destroyer.
Li said: “Ignoring international laws and rules, the US side has been practising ‘navigational hegemony’ in the South China Sea for a long time.
China ‘expelled’ a US Navy destroyer (Image: GETTY)
Tensions are rising between US and China (Image: GETTY)
“Such actions have seriously undermined China’s sovereign interests, and proven the US side’s complete lack of sincerity in maintaining global peace as well as regional security and stability.
“Our troops will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security and firmly safeguard the peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
In a bid to challenge China’s relative dominance in the region, the US has stepped-up its freedom of navigation operations in the contested waters.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express, Sean King, an expert on Asian policy and senior Vice President at Park Strategies, said the skirmish was a telling sign of increased risk-tasking on both sides.
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US ships have repeatedly sailed through the region (Image: GETTY)
He warned: “Expect more of these maritime cat and mouse games between Washington and Beijing now and in the years to come.”
The latest patrol, according to Commander Reann Mommsen, a spokeswoman for the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, was to show open opposition to China’s excessive claims around the Paracel Islands.
She said: “China, Taiwan, and Vietnam each claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands – all three claimants require either permission or advance notification before a foreign military vessel engages in ‘innocent passage’ through territorial seas.
“The unilateral imposition of any authorisation or notification requirement for innocent passage is not permitted by international law, so the United States challenged these requirements.”
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Washington wants to weaken China’s presence (Image: GETTY)
The US and China were initially on good terms (Image: GETTY)
She added: “The United States also again challenged China’s 1996 declaration of straight baselines encompassing the Paracel Islands.”
Other actions by the US have exacerbated the problem, with the US Navy having made repeated passages through the Taiwan Strait.
These ventures have sparked tensions between US and China over a protected trade war and a slew of geopolitical flashpoint.
China has been accused of militarising the waters, a claim repeatedly made by the US.
Several nations make claim over the region (Image: Express Newspapers)
The region is one of the busiest waterways in the world, with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all making a claim to ownership as well.
Washington visibly increased its presence in the South China Sea after Donald Trump labelled China as America’s top rival in lat 2017.
Its reason for doing so is to help Southeast Asian nations counter China’s expansion, that looks to spread outside of its land borders.
Last month, the US warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of the contested Fiery Cross and Mischief reefs, China’s two biggest artificial islands in the disputed Spratly Islands.
China has constructed fake islands in the region (Image: GETTY)
It was the first time an American warship had challenged two Chinese military outposts at once in a freedom of navigation operation.
And, last week, a giant crane ship owned by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was reported to have sailed into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Many believed that the move revealed China’s real intentions – having its eye on Vietnam’s gas and oil reserves.