China stands firm against intrusions

Nation to uphold maritime rights as US, Philippine vessels enter territorial waters

China will not back down, but will instead more resolutely safeguard its national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, authorities and experts said, after the Philippines and the United States separately dispatched warships, warplanes and official vessels to intrude into the territorial waters and airspace of China's Huangyan Island within just two days.

Chinese naval forces expelled a US destroyer that illegally intruded on Wednesday into China's territorial waters near Huangyan Island in the South China Sea, according to a spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army.

Senior Captain He Tiecheng, a spokesperson for the naval forces of the PLA's Southern Theater Command, said in a statement that the US destroyer USS Higgins illegally entered China's territorial waters off Huangyan Island without the approval of the Chinese government. The statement was released by the PLA Navy's South Sea Fleet.