BEIJING (Reuters – Chinese forces followed up and warned off a U.S. Warship, which had entered waters around the Paracel Islands in South China Sea. It was this latest episode in tensions within the disputed waterway.

People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command stated that the USS Benfold illegally entered Chinese territorial waters. It violated the country’s sovereignty. Chinese air and naval forces also followed the vessel.

The statement stated that it demanded the U.S. to stop provocative actions immediately or it would face serious consequences.

According to the U.S. Navy, the Benfold had “asserted navigational right and freedoms within the Paracel Island vicinity”, in accordance with international law.

Mark Langford of 7th Fleet stated that USS Benfold left excessive claims and resumed operations in South China Sea at the conclusion to the operation.

To challenge Chinese territorial claims, the United States often conducts what it calls freedom-of-navigator missions in South China Sea.

China established military outposts in artificial islands within the water, where vital shipping routes cross. They also have gas fields and fishing areas.

In the tense relationship between China, the United States and China, the South China Sea is now a flashpoint. Washington has rejected Beijing’s territorial claims.

China holds vast areas of South China Sea. All of the claims to Taiwan, Vietnam (Vietnam), Brunei, Brunei, Brunei, and the Philippines overlap.