PLA guards against US ship as it sails through Taiwan Straits again

The Chinese military has monitored and guarded against a United States guided-missile destroyer that sailed across the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday, a spokesman from the People's Liberation Army said Wednesday.

"The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed through the Taiwan Straits on July 19 and publicly hyped the incident," said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, in a statement. "The theater command organized naval and air forces to track, monitor and guard against it during the passage."

The spokesman said "the US' frequent provocations and posturing fully indicated that it's a buster of the peace and stability and a security risk maker across the Taiwan Straits."

The theater command will remain on high alert and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and peace and stability in the sea, he added.

On July 13, the USS Benfold illegally trespassed into Chinese territorial waters off Xisha Islands in the South China Sea and was dispelled by Chinese military, according to the PLA.