China scrambles fighter jets as US warship sails near disputed islands

'The unauthorised entry by the US warship into waters near China’s Nansha Islands was an act of serious provocation'

USS William P. Lawrence transits the Philippine Sea before sailing close to the disputed South China Sea reef (AFP/ Getty )

China scrambled fighter jets and dispatched a warship in response to what it described as an act of "serious provocation" after a US navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea.

The USS William P. Lawrence, a guided missile destroyer, travelled within 12 nautical miles (22km) of the Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, which is part of the Spratly chain of islands, in its third freedom of navigation operation.

China’s Defence Ministry said two fighter jets were scrambled and three warships shadowed the US ship, telling it to leave.

“The unauthorised entry by the US warship into waters near China’s Nansha Islands (China’s name for the Spratly Islands) was an act of serious provocation,” said Senior Colonel Yang Yujen, a spokesman for China’s Defence Ministry.

But US Defence Department spokesman Bill Urban said the "excessive maritime claims" were "inconsistent with international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention".

He said that the US - and all states - were entitled to exercise similar navigation rights.

China has undertaken large-scale land reclamation and construction on disputed areas, while the US has increased its patrols in protest to China’s maritime claims of the area.

Fiery Cross Reef includes a 3,000-metre runway, which China said it completed in January and has since tested.

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim part of the area.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 12 nautical miles is the maximum distance to which a nation’s rule extends off its shores.