Territorial incursion protested

US warship sailed into waters off Xisha Islands without permission

China strongly protested the trespassing of a United States warship into China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands, dispatching battleships and fighter jets to warn off the vessel.

"China will continue to take all necessary means to defend national sovereignty and security," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said after the USS Stethem, a US guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Zhongjian Island in the waters off the Xisha Islands without notifying China in advance.