BEIJING — China protested a U.S. Navy patrol that sent a guided missile destroyer near a group of man-made islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, in the first American challenge to Beijing’s claims to the waters since President Donald Trump took office. Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Ren Guoqiang told reporters at a monthly news briefing that a pair of Chinese navy frigates had warned off the American ship after it entered the area without China’s permission. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators earlier this month urged Trump to resume freedom of navigation operations that had last been conducted in October. The senators described the South China Sea as critical to U.S. national security interests and to peace in the Asia-Pacific. forces operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea.

Source: Washington Post May 25, 2017 08:05 UTC