Chinese navy says US ship near Sabina Shoal jeopardised maritime security

​China's Southern ​Theater Command Navy ‌on Tuesday ​accused a US littoral combat ship ‌of jeopardising maritime security by "illegally" entering waters near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly ‌Islands without approval from Beijing. The Chinese navy ‌dispatched forces to track and monitor the USS Charleston, and said the ⁠US ​action not ⁠only infringes on China's sovereign rights but ⁠was also detrimental to regional peace and ​stability.

China and the Philippines, which ⁠shares a mutual defence treaty with the ⁠US, ​both contest sovereignty over Sabina Shoal and the entire Spratly ⁠Islands archipelago. The US Navy did not ⁠immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment.