CHINA-US: CHINA STATES IT EXPELLED US NAVY DESTROYER AFTER IT "TRESPASSED" CHINESE TERRITORIAL WATERS
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Senior Colonel Tian Junli, the spokesman for the PLA Southern Theatre Command, claimed on December 22 that its military had "expelled" a US destroyer after it "trespassed" into Chinese territorial waters close to the Spratly Islands. Senior Colonel Tian Junli's statement came shortly after the US Navy announced the USS John S McCain had asserted its "navigational rights and freedoms" in the disputed seas near the islands, "consistent with international law". The incident occurred as Shandong, China's second aircraft carrier, was reported to be conducting drills in the region after sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on December 20.
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