BEIJING, 21 January 2022, (TON): Chinese and American navies were once again face to face in the South China Sea.

In a statement, the Chinese People's Liberation Army said “a US destroyer trespassed its territorial waters surrounding the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea “without Chinese government's approval.”

The US 7th Fleet, which commands America’s Asia-Pacific operations, said “its USS Benfold (DDG 65) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law.”

The command said in a statement “this freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and also by challenging Beijing’s claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands.”

It added “unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for the South China Sea littoral nations.”

China claims sovereignty over parts of the resource-rich sea, bringing it into a dispute with the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.