US destroyer's intrusion into Chinese waters unacceptable

The Foreign Ministry has called the trespassing of a US missile destroyer in China's territorial waters a "serious political and military provocation", and the Ministry of National Defense said the move has seriously undermined the strategic mutual trust between the two militaries.

Such a response drives home the message that the United States is solely responsible for raising tensions between the two militaries and casting a shadow over bilateral ties.

In the second "freedom of navigation" operation conducted by the US Navy since US President Donald Trump took office, the missile destroyer USS Stethem trespassed in China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands on Sunday.