China says it ordered USS Higgins to leave disputed South China Sea waters

China’s military says it monitored and ordered U.S. Navy destroyer USS Higgins to leave waters near a disputed South China Sea territory, an area it claims as its own.

Senior Colonel He Tiecheng, spokesperson for the Chinese Southern Theater Command, said the USS Higgins “illegally intruded” into waters near Scarborough Shoal, which China refers to as Huangyan Island, on Wednesday.

Tiecheng said naval forces tracked, monitored, warned, and ordered the ship to leave “in accordance with laws and regulations,” describing the U.S. operation as a violation of China’s sovereignty and a threat to regional stability.

Scarborough Shoal is a disputed maritime feature in the South China Sea claimed by China, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

The area lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but China controls access to the shoal and asserts sweeping claims over most of the South China Sea based on what it calls “historic rights.”

China’s expansive claims have been challenged by an international tribunal, which in 2016 ruled that its “nine-dash line” claim has no legal basis. Beijing has rejected the ruling.

The United States regularly conducts what it calls freedom of navigation operations in the region, saying they are meant to uphold international law and ensure open access to the seas.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the U.S. Navy have not yet issued a statement regarding the incident.