China urges US to stop ‘provocative actions’ after Navy ships sail in South China Sea

China has urged the U.S. to stop what it described as “provocative actions” in the South China Sea after Navy ships sailed near islands China has claimed. 

China’s military told Reuters that two U.S. warships sailed through the area.  

“We urge [the United States] to stop these provocative actions to avoid any unforeseeable accidents,” a spokesperson for China’s Southern Theatre Command said in a statement, according to the wire service. 

“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and its surrounding area,” the spokesperson added. 

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also took issue with the action, saying it harms the country’s safety and sovereignty, according to Reuters. 

“The U.S. actions severely damage China’s sovereignty and safety, destroy the peace and stability in the South China Sea, and we express our resolute opposition,” spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Friday. 

The U.S. military also told Reuters that the ships sailed near the islands in the South China Sea in recent days. 

“These missions are based in the rule of law and demonstrate our commitment to upholding the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations,” U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet spokeswoman, Cmdr. Reann Mommsen, told Reuters. 

The wire service reported that the U.S. has accused China of militarizing the waterway and trying to intimidate other countries.