China: U.S. warship ‘violated’ its sovereignty

Beijing said on Saturday (Jan 20) it had dispatched a warship to drive away a US missile destroyer which had “violated” its sovereignty by sailing close to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea.

The USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Island on the night of Jan 17 without alerting Beijing, the foreign ministry said, referring to the shoal by its Chinese name.