USS Benfold DDG-65 file photo:cnsphotos

On Wednesday, the US guided missile destroyer USS Benfold trespassed into areas adjacent to the Meiji reef in the South China Sea without China's permission, and the naval and aerial forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command conducted whole-process tracking and monitoring of the US destroyer and warned it off, said a PLA Southern Theater Command spokesperson in a written statement.

Air Force Senior Colonel Tian Junli, the spokesperson, pointed out that the US move has seriously violated China's sovereignty and security. It is a latest iron proof of the US' voyage hegemony and militarization of the South China Sea.

"More and more facts have proved that the US is the biggest risk and peace breaker for the stability and peace in the region," Tian said. 

Tian stressed in the statement that China has sovereignty over the islands and nearby waters and the troops of the PLA Southern Theater Command will always stay on high alert. The troops will firmly perform their duties and missions to safeguard China's sovereignty and security and protect peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Global Times