Disputed Island: China Condemns US Warship Passage

china has condemned a US ship’s passage near disputed islands in the South China Sea as “illegal” and a threat to their country’s sovereignty.Reports show that the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen was said to have breached the 12-nautical mile zone China claims around Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago.The US confirmed that the operation took place, apparently as part of its Freedom of Navigation programme.The operation is a challenge to China’s claims over the artificial islands.A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, Lu Kang, said Beijing would “resolutely respond to any country’s deliberately provocative actions”.He argues that the ship had been “tracked and warned” while on the mission to deliberately enter the disputed waters.The US ambassador was summoned by the Chinese foreign ministry who expressed their disapproval to him over the move.Meanwhile, Ash Carter, the Secretary Defence for the United States confirmed that the USS Lassen had passed within 12 miles of the islands, during questioning by the Senate Armed Forces Committee. Cdr Bill Urban a spokeman for US Defence Department said earlier that “the United States is conducting routine operations in the South China Sea in accordance with international law”.The move was welcomed by several countries in the East Asia region, including the Philippines and Japan.