US warship's incursion 'aims to renew tension'

An incursion by a US warship in Chinese territorial waters on Saturday is the latest attempt by Washington to return tension to the South China Sea and encourage more regional stakeholders to challenge China, according to observers.

They made the comments after the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer, intruded into the territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands.

Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said the South China Sea situation had been eased for some time before the latest outspoken remarks and intrusion by Washington. One of the US' goals is to bring tension back to the region, Zhang said.