The Chinese military announced today that it "expelled" the USS Higgins from the Scarborough Shoal. from the waters of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The US warship entered the area in question today "without the permission of the Chinese government", the Chinese Southern Theater Command said in a statement.
The US Indo-Pacific Command and the US Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the case.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its own, regardless of claims to exclusive economic zones in these waters by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, Reuters reported.