US urged to cease 'irresponsible' actions

The Chinese military has urged the United States to take more measures that benefit regional peace and stability and stop causing trouble for China-US military-to-military relations and bilateral ties, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement late on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the US guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur sailed through the Taiwan Straits, making it fifth transit this year by a US warship through the strategic waterway.

The People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command protested the action on Wednesday, saying that it sends the wrong signal to Taiwan separatist forces and undermines peace and stability in the region. The command also dispatched forces to track the destroyer during its passage.

On Thursday, the US vessel trespassed into territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands in the South China Sea following a similar incident by the USS John S. McCain in February. The PLA Southern Theater Command mobilized forces to monitor and expel the ships in both cases.

Air Force Senior Colonel Tian Junli, the command's spokesman, said the Xisha Islands are "inherent territory of China", and the US has been routinely exercising its hegemonic power in navigation and misleading public opinion to violate China's sovereignty and security.

Tian called the action by the US Navy "unprofessional and irresponsible", adding that "it has violated international laws and basic principles in international relations, deliberately increased regional security risks, and can easily lead to misunderstanding, misjudgment and maritime accidents".

In an unusually lengthy response from the US Navy's 7th Fleet, it insisted the USS Curtis Wilbur was not expelled from any nation's territory.

Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said the recent actions by the US naval vessel constitute a "serious provocation that is very malevolent in nature" and the ministry strongly opposes and denounces these acts.

Tan said the US is "playing with fire" by meddling in the Taiwan question, which is the most important and sensitive issue in China-US relations as it is related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The frequent passages of US military vessels through the Taiwan Straits create crisis in the region and are "very irresponsible and dangerous actions", he added.

As for the South China Sea, Tan said China released the territorial sea baseline for the Xisha Islands in 1996. "We urge the US side to clearly evaluate the situation and stop its provocations, uphold the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques and contribute to regional peace and stability," he said.

"The Chinese military will take every measure necessary to handle any threats and provocations, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.