It seems, it has been reported, that China has warned the US about sailing into the disputed waters in the South China Sea…..yes I said WARNED!

China said on Monday that it has warned two US ships sailing near disputed islands in the South China Sea to leave the area.

The move comes amid heightened tension between Beijing and Washington over trade tariffs, sanctions and Taiwan.

Warships in the South China Sea

• US guided-missile destroyers Preble and Chung-Hoon traveled within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs.
• The reefs form part of the Spratly Islands, a region of the South China Sea over which China claims sovereignty.
• The Foreign Ministry said the US vessels entered the waters without Chinese permission.

‘Infringed on Chinese sovereignty’

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a press conference that China “is strongly dissatisfied and is resolutely opposed” to the US operation.

https://www.dw.com/en/china-warns-us-after-warships-sail-in-disputed-south-china-sea/a-48614428

Interesting turn of events……usually the US is the country warning others with our might and now the shoe is on the other foot.

China is expanding and the Pacific is their “backyard”…..

On September 30th 2018, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 052C destroyer Lanzhou maneuvered dangerously close to American guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur as it patrolled the South China Sea. Lanzhou came within 50 meters of Decatur’s bow, sounding collision warnings on the bridge as radio calls went unanswered. Chinese skippers typically shadow U.S. vessels in these contested waters, but this behavior was uncharacteristically aggressive.

Decatur was conducting what the U.S. calls a freedom-of-navigation operation  near Gaven Reef in the hotly-contested Spratly Islands.[1] These operations demonstrate the U.S. Navy’s ability to transit international waters under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea—a treaty the U.S. recognizes even if it has not ratified it.[2] China, which is a party to the law of the sea convention, claims adherence to its letter but often violates its spirit with excessive maritime claims.[3]