Beijing accuses US navy of ‘illegally’ entering South China Sea territory

Chinese ships regularly block Philippine supply ships from reaching the BRP Sierra Madre on the contested Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin, in the South China Sea [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]

China has claimed that a US naval ship has “illegally intruded” its South China Sea territorial waters.

A Chinese naval force was mobilised to track the USS Gabrielle Giffords on Monday when it ventured near the waters of the Second Thomas Shoal, Beijing said. The reef is part of the Spratly Islands, an area that is the centre of a territorial dispute between China and the Philippines.