China slams U.S. warship move in the South China Sea

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. and Chinese presidents spoke on Monday, Kuly 3 in a scheduled call hours after relations came under renewed pressure as an American warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea, AFP reveals.

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping discussed efforts to denuclearise North Korea and improve U.S.-Chinese trade relations, though the ship's passage was not mentioned in a White House readout of the conversation.

Relations between the two nations had been warmer since Trump and Xi met in April, but Washington has taken a series of actions that have infuriated Beijing in recent days.

The latest move to anger China came on Sunday, when the USS Stethem destroyer sailed less than 12 nautical miles from tiny Triton Island in the Paracel Islands archipelago, which is claimed by China as well as Taiwan and Vietnam, a U.S. official told AFP.

The distance is commonly accepted as constituting the territorial waters of a landmass. Such operations are meant to demonstrate freedom of navigation in disputed waters.

The move prompted China to deploy military vessels and fighter jets, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement late Sunday, calling the U.S. operation a "serious political and military provocation".

The spokesman called on Washington to "immediately stop" operations that violate Chinese sovereignty and threaten the country's security.

It was the second operation of its kind carried out by the United States since Trump took office.

Last week, China lashed out at Washington after Trump authorised a $1.3 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which China considers a rebel province, and the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a Chinese bank accused of laundering North Korean cash.