BEIJING (AP) - The Chinese government on Saturday accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China would take "necessary measures" to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China's permission.

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012. Known in Chinese as Huangyan Island, it lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, and about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of China.

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 21, 2015, file photo, U.S. Navy's amphibious assault vehicles with Philippine and U.S. troops on board maneuver in the waters during a combined assault exercise facing the contested Scarborough Shoal in waters off of the Philippines. The Chinese government, Saturday, Jan 20, 2018, accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.

"We hope that the U.S. respects China's sovereignty, respects the efforts by regional countries and do not make trouble out of nothing," Wu said in a statement on the ministry's website.

The South China Sea has crucial shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and potential oil, gas and other mineral deposits.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has carried out extensive land reclamation work on many of the islands and reefs it claims, equipping some with air strips and military installations.

The United States does not claim territory in the South China Sea but has declared it has a national interest in ensuring that the territorial disputes there are resolved peacefully in accordance with international law.

The Navy regularly sails through the area to assert freedom of navigation.

"The United States conducts routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do so in the future," Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, said after China's claim. FONOP is the military's term for freedom of navigation operations.

She said such operations are "not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements." Instead they aim to "demonstrate our commitment to uphold the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law." </s> The Chinese government on Saturday accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China would take “necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China’s permission.

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012. Known in Chinese as Huangyan Island, it lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, and about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of China.

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.

“We hope that the U.S. respects China’s sovereignty, respects the efforts by regional countries and do not make trouble out of nothing,” Wu said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

Read more at the Washington Post </s> China says it warned off a US Navy destroyer near a group of disputed islets in the South China Sea last week.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Saturday that the USS Hopper missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Scarborough Shoal, called Huangyan Island in China, on Wednesday night.

“The Chinese navy carried out identification and verification procedures in accordance with the law and warned the US vessel to leave,” Lu said.

“China is strongly dissatisfied with the [US action] and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty.”

The encounter between the two navies adds to long-standing tension between the United States and China in waters contested by at least six nations.

Just over a year ago, a US Navy plane and a Chinese surveillance aircraft flew within 300 metres (1,000 feet) of each other near the Scarborough Shoal.

The shoal off the western coast of the Philippines is seen as a strategic point among the claimants because it is within easy striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines. A military outpost there could also stop other navies from using a northeast gateway to the area.

Beijing and Manila have tussled over the shoal on and off since 2013, when Manila took its case to an international tribunal in The Hague. The tribunal ruled in 2016 that the “nine-dash line” which underpins Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea had no legal basis.

Nevertheless, China has built artificial islands and facilities on other disputed parts of the waters, according to satellite images.

The US does not claim sovereignty of the waters but says it has the right to conduct freedom-of-navigation operations in the area.

Zhang Jie, a Southeast Asian affairs specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the incident on Wednesday would have been the first time a US Navy destroyer had gone so close the islets, which she described as a “very sensitive region”. Beijing considers any US patrols within 12 nautical miles of the islands as an intrusion into its territorial waters.

In June 2016, the US sent a total of three destroyers to conduct patrols within 14 to 20 nautical miles of the shoal and the Spratly Islands.

Zhang said the shoal was the Philippines’ unspoken bottom line in its quiet diplomacy with China on the South China Sea.

“The current diplomatic approach of the Philippines is to make the sovereignty [over the shoal] ambiguous,” she said.

“It has asked China not to build on the shoal, which China has not. The mutual preference of both the Philippines and China over this particular [shoal] is stability.”

Zhang said she expected to see more frequent confrontations between the US and Chinese militaries in the South China Sea, with Washington putting China and Russia at the centre of its new national defence strategy.

“The South China Sea will be the ground on which the two powers will wrestle for military power. It has become a long-term conflict,” she said. </s> CHINA'S HERE. One of the Chinese ships spotted near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), September 3, 2016. Photo courtesy Philippine Department of Defense

VIENTIANE, Laos (UPDATED) – Beijing came under pressure at an Asian summit on Wednesday, September 7, over its "illegal" island building in the South China Sea, after the Philippines produced evidence it said showed fresh construction activity at a flashpoint shoal.

An artificial island at Scarborough Shoal could be a game changer in China's quest to control the sea and raises the risk of armed confrontation with the United States, according to security analysts.

Beijing this week insisted it had not started building at the shoal – a move that could lead to a military outpost just 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the main Philippine island, where US forces are stationed.

But the Philippines on Wednesday released images it said showed Chinese ships in the area that were capable of dredging sand and other activities required to build an artificial island.

"We have reason to believe that their presence is a precursor to building activities on the shoal," defense department spokesman Arsenio Andolong told Agence France-Presse.

"We are continuing our surveillance and monitoring of their presence and activities, which are disturbing."

China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.

The competing territorial claims have long been a major source of tension in the region, with China using deadly force twice to seize control of islands from Vietnam.

Illegal island building

A ship of the China Coast Guard near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), September 3, 2016. Photo courtesy Philippine Department of Defense

Tensions have escalated sharply in recent years as China has built islands on reefs and islets in the Spratlys archipelago – another strategically important location – that are capable of supporting military operations.

The United States has reacted to that build-up by sailing warships close to the new islands, and sending warplanes over them, deeply angering China.

A UN-backed tribunal ruled in July that China's claims to most of the sea had no legal basis and its construction of artificial islands in the disputed waters was illegal.

But Beijing vowed to ignore the ruling.

China took control of Scarborough shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has since deployed large fishing fleets while blocking Filipino fishermen.

Expanding that presence with a military outpost is vital to achieving China's ambitions of controlling the sea, according to security analysts.

US officials fear a Chinese military airfield at the shoal would enable Beijing to enforce a threatened air defence identification zone in the sea.

An outpost at the shoal would also put Chinese fighter jets and missiles within easy striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines.

US President Barack Obama reportedly directly warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during a meeting in March not to push ahead with any artificial island building there.

Conflict risk

Another Chinese ship near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), September 3, 2016. Photo courtesy Philippine Department of Defense

The United States, which is a treaty ally of the Philippines, has repeatedly said it does not want to fight a war over the shoal.

But military skirmishes cannot be ruled out if China does start to build an island, according to security analysts.

"We could witness a physical confrontation between Chinese Coast Guard and Filipino vessels backed up by the US Navy," Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at Australia's University of New South Wales, told AFP.

An Obama aide on Wednesday played down the significance of the Philippine photos, telling reporters the United States had not detected any unusual activity at Scarborough Shoal.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had said he did not want to anger China by highlighting the territorial row at the summit of regional leaders in Laos this week.

But the release of the photos came just a few hours before Duterte and other leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations met China's Li, in what his spokesman said was a deliberate move.

The Philippines and Singapore, which this year is ASEAN's lead negotiator with China, raised the dispute during the meeting.

"What was underlined... was the importance of the rule of law and adhering to international bodies," Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, told reporters in Vientiane.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also called on China to abide by the tribunal's ruling, emphasising in his meeting with ASEAN leaders that the verdict was legally binding.

Obama is also in Laos for the regional meetings, which will conclude on Thursday with an East Asia summit.

But the US president cancelled his planned meeting with Duterte, during which the sea issue was to be discussed, after the volatile Philippine president called him a "son of a whore." – Rappler.com </s> VIENTIANE: Beijing came under pressure at an Asian summit Wednesday over its “illegal” island building in the South China Sea, after the Philippines produced evidence it said showed fresh construction activity at a flashpoint shoal.

An artificial island at Scarborough Shoal could be a game changer in China’s quest to control the sea and raises the risk of armed confrontation with the United States, according to security analysts.

Beijing this week insisted it had not started building at the shoal—a move that could lead to a military outpost just 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the main Philippine island, where US forces are stationed.

But the Philippines on Wednesday released images it said showed Chinese ships in the area that were capable of dredging sand and other activities required to build an artificial island.

“We have reason to believe that their presence is a precursor to building activities on the shoal,” defense department spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP.

“We are continuing our surveillance and monitoring of their presence and activities, which are disturbing.”

China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.

The competing territorial claims have long been a major source of tension in the region, with China using deadly force twice to seize control of islands from Vietnam.

Tensions have escalated sharply in recent years as China has built islands on reefs and islets in the Spratlys archipelago—another strategically important location—that are capable of supporting military operations.

The United States has reacted to that build-up by sailing warships close to the new islands, and sending warplanes over them, deeply angering China.

A UN-backed tribunal ruled in July that China’s claims to most of the sea had no legal basis and its construction of artificial islands in the disputed waters was illegal.

But Beijing vowed to ignore the ruling.

China took control of Scarborough shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has since deployed large fishing fleets while blocking Filipino fishermen.

Expanding that presence with a military outpost is vital to achieving China’s ambitions of controlling the sea, according to security analysts.

US officials fear a Chinese military airfield at the shoal would enable Beijing to enforce a threatened air defense identification zone in the sea.

An outpost at the shoal would also put Chinese fighter jets and missiles within easy striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines.

US President Barack Obama reportedly directly warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during a meeting in March not to push ahead with any artificial island building there.

The United States, which is a treaty ally of the Philippines, has repeatedly said it does not want to fight a war over the shoal.

But military skirmishes cannot be ruled out if China does start to build an island, according to security analysts.

“We could witness a physical confrontation between Chinese Coast Guard and Filipino vessels backed up by the US Navy,” Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales, told AFP.

An Obama aide on Wednesday played down the significance of the Philippine photos, telling reporters the United States had not detected any unusual activity at Scarborough Shoal.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had said he did not want to anger China by highlighting the territorial row at the summit of regional leaders in Laos this week.

But the release of the photos came just a few hours before Duterte and other leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations met China’s Li, in what his spokesman said was a deliberate move.

The Philippines and Singapore, which this year is ASEAN’s lead negotiator with China, raised the dispute during the meeting.

“What was underlined… was the importance of the rule of law and adhering to international bodies,” Duterte’s spokesman, Martin Andanar, told reporters in Vientiane.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also called on China to abide by the tribunal’s ruling, emphasizing in his meeting with ASEAN leaders that the verdict was legally binding.

Obama is also in Laos for the regional meetings, which will conclude on Thursday with an East Asia summit.

But the US president cancelled his planned meeting with Duterte, during which the sea issue was to be discussed, after the volatile Philippine president called him a “son of a whore”. AFP </s> China has accused the United States of violating its sovereignty after a U.S. missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of Huangyan Island, also known at Scarborough Shoal, on January 17.

China's Defense Ministry said in a statement that a Chinese frigate "immediately took actions to identify and verify the U.S. ship and drove it away by warning."

China seized Huangyan from the Philippines in 2012.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has carried out extensive land reclamation work on many of the islands and reefs it claims, equipping some with air strips and military installations.

The South China Sea has crucial shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and potential oil, gas and other mineral deposits.

While the U.S. has no territorial claims in the South China Sea and says it is neutral in the dispute, it has said it is concerned China is trying to militarize what should be free and open international waters. About $3 trillion worth of goods pass through the area each year.

The U.S. Navy regularly sails through the area to assert freedom of navigation.

China says it wants to settle any territorial disputes over the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations. </s> moodboard/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 miles of Scarborough Shoal, a small uninhabited reef in the South China Sea claimed by China and the Philippines, according to a U.S. official. China’s Foreign Ministry accused the United States of trespassing through its territorial waters.

The USS Hopper carried out an “innocent passage” within 12 miles of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening, said a U.S. official. The guided missile destroyer was shadowed during the operation by a Chinese Navy ship.

The U.S. official described the Hopper’s patrol as an “innocent passage” and not a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) under the strict legal definition, but “the message was the same.”

Under international law, a nation’s territorial waters extend 12 miles from its shoreline.

Barely above sea level, the chain of reefs and rocks is located 120 miles west of the Philippines and is claimed by China and the Philippines. Since 2012, Chinese government ships have turned away Philippine fishing vessels near the rich fishing grounds surrounding the shoal.

In 2016, an international court at The Hague ruled against China’s claim to Scarborough Shoal in a case filed by the Philippines.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Hopper had sailed within its 12-mile territorial limit “without gaining permission from the Chinese government.”

“What the U.S. vessel did violated China’s sovereignty and security interests, put the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel who were in the relevant waters for official duties under grave threat, and contravened the basic norms for international relations,” the statement added.

“China is strongly dissatisfied with that and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty,” said the statement.

The U.S. Navy has previously conducted FONOPs in the South China Sea through other disputed island chains claimed by China, including the Spratleys and the Paracels. Pentagon officials stressed that FONOPs are conducted worldwide and are intended to demonstrate freedom of navigation through international waters.

“The United States conducts routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do so in the future,” said Lt. Commander Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

“We have a comprehensive FONOP program under which U.S. forces challenge excessive maritime claims across the globe to demonstrate our commitment to uphold the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law. FONOPs are not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements. FONOPS are designed to comply with international law and not threaten the lawful security interest of coastal states.” </s> Beijing's "illegal" island building in the South China Sea moved centre stage at an Asian summit Wednesday after the Philippines produced evidence it said showed fresh construction activity at a flashpoint shoal.

An artificial island at Scarborough Shoal could be a game changer in China's quest to control the sea and raises the risk of armed confrontation with the United States, according to security analysts.

Beijing this week insisted it had not started building at the shoal -- a move that could lead to a military outpost just 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the main Philippine island, where US forces are stationed.

But the Philippines on Wednesday released images it said showed Chinese ships in the area that were capable of dredging sand and other activities required to build an artificial island.

"We have reason to believe that their presence is a precursor to building activities on the shoal," defence department spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP.

"We are continuing our surveillance and monitoring of their presence and activities, which are disturbing."

China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.

The competing territorial claims have long been a major source of tension in the region, with China using deadly force twice to seize control of islands from Vietnam.

Tensions have escalated sharply in recent years as China has built islands on reefs and islets in the Spratlys archipelago -- another strategically important location -- that are capable of supporting military operations.

The United States has reacted to that build-up by sailing warships close to the new islands, and sending warplanes over them.

This has deeply angered China, which has accused the Americans of "militarising the region", and raised concerns of armed conflict between the two world powers.

A UN-backed tribunal ruled in July that China's claims to most of the sea had no legal basis and its construction of artificial islands in the disputed waters was illegal.

But Beijing vowed to ignore the ruling.

China took control of Scarborough shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has since deployed large fishing fleets while blocking Filipino fishermen.

Expanding that presence with a military outpost is vital to achieving China's ambitions of controlling the sea, according to security analysts.

US officials fear a Chinese military airfield at the shoal would enable China to enforce a threatened air defence identification zone in the sea.

Another major concern is it allows China a military base close to where US forces regularly operate on the Philippine main island of Luzon.

US President Barack Obama reportedly directly warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during a meeting in March not to push ahead with any artificial island building there.

The United States, which is a treaty ally of the Philippines, has repeatedly said it does not want to fight a war over the shoal.

But military confrontation can not be ruled out if China does start to build an island, according to security analysts.

"We could witness a physical confrontation between Chinese Coast Guard and Filipino vessels backed up by the US Navy," Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at Australia's University of New South Wales, told AFP.

An Obama aide on Wednesday played down the significance of the Philippine photos, telling reporters the United States had not detected any unusual activity at Scarborough Shoal.

When pressed on initial Philippine accusations on Monday before the photos were released, China insisted there were no dredging boats or others to prepare for island building.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had said he did not want to anger China by highlighting the territorial row at the summit of regional leaders in Laos this week.

But the release of the photos came just a few hours before Duterte and other leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations met China's Li.

Also on Wednesday, the Philipppine coast guard announced that United States is giving Manila two used military aircraft, to help expand sea patrols in the face of territorial disputes with China.

The two Sherpa 30-seater aircraft will be delivered in December, Philippine coast guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo told AFP.

"It will help us in the movements of the Philippine Coast Guard like patrol missions," Balilo added.

Obama is also in Laos for the regional meetings, which will conclude on Thursday with an East Asia summit. </s> BEIJING (AP) – The Chinese government has accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Saturday that China will take “necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty after the USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday evening without China’s permission.

Scarborough is a tiny, uninhabited reef that China seized from the Philippines in 2012.

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian says a Chinese missile frigate moved to identify and verify the U.S. vessel and warned it to leave the area.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has tried to fortify its foothold in recent years by transforming reefs into island outposts.

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China claims its sovereignty was violated when a United States Navy ship sailed close to the Scarborough Shoal near the Philippines.