December 4, 2023

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday slammed the US for violating Chinese sovereignty and described it as "the biggest threat" to peace and stability in the South China Sea, after a US Navy ship illegally intruded into waters adjacent to Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef) in China's Nansha Islands, which are at the center of the recent tensions between China and the Philippines.

Chinese experts believe that the US intended to create tension and thus strengthen the Philippines' loyalty to Washington, thereby destabilizing the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific and better advancing Washington's "Indo-Pacific strategy." The Philippines' recent moves over the South China Sea show that Manila currently lacks rationality and balance, which means regional countries should be better prepared with "bottom line thinking" for further possible provocations by the Philippines.

The USS Gabrielle Giffords littoral combat ship on Monday illegally intruded into waters adjacent to Ren'ai Jiao without authorization from the Chinese government, and the PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval forces, tracked and monitored the US vessel throughout its entire course on high alert, Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson at the PLA Southern Theater Command, said in a statement on the day.

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