Tensions Surge as China Claims to Expel U.S. Destroyer from Scarborough Shoal

 

China’s military announced on Wednesday that it had monitored and “drove away” the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Higgins after it sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The incident marks the first known U.S. operation within the shoal’s waters in at least six years, occurring just a day after the Philippines accused Chinese vessels of “dangerous maneuvers” during a supply mission in the area.

According to the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command, the destroyer entered the waters “without approval” from Beijing, an act it said “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security” and undermined regional stability. The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet countered that the mission was a lawful “freedom of navigation” operation, asserting navigational rights under international law.

Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground and strategic maritime chokepoint, is claimed by China, the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian nations. Despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling rejecting Beijing’s expansive claims, China continues to assert control over the area. The shoal remains a flashpoint in the broader South China Sea dispute, a region through which more than $3 trillion in trade passes annually.