BEIJING, May 28 -- A US guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin trespassed into Chinese territorial waters off the Xisha Islands without China’s permission on May 28, 2020. In response, the Southern Theater Command (STC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) organized naval and air forces to conduct whole-process monitoring and verification on the US warship and warned off it. Senior Colonel Li Huamin, spokesperson for the PLA STC, said in a written statement on Thursday.

The US provocative acts seriously violated the international law and China's sovereignty and security interests, violated the relevant norms of international law, undermined the peace and stability in the South China Sea region, which were evident embodiment of navigational hegemony, Snr Col Li noted.

The spokesperson pointed out that while the world is still faced with the rigorous challenge of COVID-19, instead of focusing on disease prevention and control and making contributions to the international fight against COVID-19 pandemic, the US disregarded the health and lives of American people and repeatedly sent warships to the South China Sea to show off power and provoke troubles. Such acts fully expose the US hypocrisy and its trouble-maker nature in the South China Sea.

China owns indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the adjacent waters, the spokesperson noted, reaffirming that the Chinese military will stay on high alert and take all necessary measures to protect national sovereignty and security and safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.