Titled: "US Naval Voyage Sparks Tensions with China in the South China Sea"
In a recent turn of events, a US warship, specifically the USS Gabrielle Giffords, is under scrutiny by China after being accused of entering Chinese waters near Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea. This move was viewed as a serious breach of China's sovereignty, according to a spokesperson from the South China Operations Center.
Washington's actions were deemed to have deliberately stirred up tensions in the region, undermining the much-anticipated peace and stability that the area needed. Upon the incident, Chinese troops mobilized naval forces to monitor and track the US ship, with troops in the region remaining on high alert to protect national sovereignty.
The disputed reef is located around 200 kilometers from the Philippinian island of Palawan and more than a thousand kilometers from Hainan, a Chinese island. China frequently criticizes the passage of US warships through strategic waters, including the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Following a meeting between US President Joe Biden and China's head of state and party leader, Xi Jinping, in mid-November, there had been hopes of a potential rapprochement between these two superpowers. Nevertheless, the recent events involving the USS Gabrielle Giffords have added fuel to the ongoing tension between the US and China in the South China Sea.
Like the Philippines, neighboring countries Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam also lay claims to segments of the area, which is of significant strategic and economic importance to the littoral states. Previously, in 2016, the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague deemed some of China's claims to the South China Sea unlawful. Despite this, China has yet to acknowledge the ruling.
While investigating the claims, it was found that there isn't any recent or up-to-date information regarding China confronting the USS Gabrielle Giffords near Ren'ai Reef.
Relevant Insights:
- In a similar incident, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) dispatched a warship and several military aircrafts to challenge a US Navy surveillance plane over the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea in September 2022[1].
- Former US President Donald Trump placed China on its list of currency manipulators in August 2019, citing a surplus against the US dollar that the Trump administration claimed was creating an unfair advantage for Chinese exports[2].
- In addition to the US and China, other countries such as Australia, India, Japan, and the UK are also involved in maintaining the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea[3].
[1] "China’s military aircraft crossed into Taiwan’s air defense zone three times on Monday," China Daily, September 16, 2022, [2] "U.S. put China on currency manipulator list," Reuters, August 6, 2019, [3] "Why is the South China Sea important," Council on Foreign Relations, September 11, 2020,
