
China on Sunday condemned the incident of two US warships trespassing into its territorial waters off the Xisha Islands.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said that the US warships trespassed on Sunday without permission of the Chinese government. He further noted that the Chinese navy had identified the US warships, warned and expelled them.
China has explicit provisions in place over foreign military vessels' entry into its territorial sea, Lu said.
Lu, on behalf of China, urged the United States "to immediately stop such kind of provocative operations that violate China's sovereignty and threaten China's security".
The spokesperson also added that the country will take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and security.
On May 17, Kang had announced that anyone who would want to carry out oil and gas exploration or exploitation in Chinese waters would require a prior permission from Beijing.
"We urge relevant parties to earnestly respect China's sovereign and jurisdictional rights and not do anything that could impact bilateral relations or this region's peace and stability," Lu had said.
(With inputs from agencies)