Washington is damaging peace and stability in the South China Sea and is undermining China-US relations, Beijing said. The comments come a day after the ‘USS Stethem,’ a guided-missile destroyer, sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the region.
The US once again sent warships into the territorial waters of China, seriously damaging the strategic mutual trust between the two sides, Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian said in a statement on Monday, as cited by Chinese media.
According to Wu, Washington’s actions undermine the development of Chinese-US military relations, sour the political atmosphere and damage regional peace and stability.
The Chinese army will strengthen its defense capabilities, increase the intensity of air and sea patrols, and vigorously defend the sovereignty and security of the country, he added.
Also on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned US leader Donald Trump that “negative factors” are jeopardizing relations between the two nations.
“Bilateral relations have been affected by some negative factors. China has expressed its position to the US, ” CCTV state broadcaster reported Xi as saying.
On Sunday, China sent military vessels and warplanes to “warn off” the ‘USS Stethem,’ which had sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands (known as Xisha in Chinese) in the South China Sea.
