Beijing: China's military said on Tuesday it had sent forces to watch a US warship that "illegally" entered waters around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. China views almost all of the busy waterway as its own territory, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, with recent tension most pronounced between Beijing and Manila.
The Chinese military's Southern Theatre Commmand said the Charleston "illegally intruded" into waters adjacent to Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without Chinese government approval in the early hours of Tuesday.
