WASHINGTON: The US military said two of its warships sailed in the South China Sea on Monday, annoying Beijing further amid taunted ties between the world’s two biggest economies.
The South China Sea is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war, US sanctions and Taiwan.
President Donald Trump dramatically increased pressure on China to reach a trade deal by announcing on Sunday he would hike US tariffs on Chinese goods worth $200 billion this week.
According to a US military spokesman Clay Doss, the US guided-missile destroyers Preble and Chung Hoon traveled within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs in the Spratly Islands.
China and the United States have repeatedly traded barbs in the past over what Washington says is Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea by building military installations on artificial islands and reefs.
China defends its construction as necessary for self-defense and says it is the United States that is responsible for ratcheting up tensions in the region by sending warships and military planes close to islands Beijing claims.
Last month, China’s navy chief said freedom of navigation should not be used to infringe upon the rights of other countries.
(Agencies)
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