China on Thursday accused the US of trespassing after an American warship sailed near a reef claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, the first such operation by President Donald Trump’s administration in the disputed waterway. The row comes during a period of warming relations between the countries with President Donald Trump saying that Washington has dialed down pressure on Beijing over other issues in hopes of encouraging their cooperation on North Korea. The guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey entered the area “without permission from the Chinese government,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a regular press briefing, adding that the ship had “trespassed in the waters near the relevant islands and reefs.”

US warship sails near South China Sea reef. (2017, May 26). The Manila Times, p. A2.