China said on Tuesday that its navy had deployed forces to track and monitor an American warship near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, accusing the vessel of entering the waters illegally and warning Washington to stop such operations.
China’s Southern Theater Command Navy said the littoral combat ship USS Charleston had moved into waters near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without approval from Beijing. It described the passage as an illegal intrusion that jeopardised maritime security and regional stability, and said Chinese forces were sent to track and monitor the ship.
The United States Navy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Washington regularly sails warships through the South China Sea in what it calls freedom of navigation operations, intended to challenge maritime claims it considers excessive under international law.
USS Charleston Sabina Shoal: key facts
- What happened: China says the USS Charleston entered waters near Sabina Shoal without permission; Chinese naval forces tracked and monitored it.
- Where: Sabina Shoal, in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, claimed by both China and the Philippines.
- When: Tuesday, October 20, 2026; the encounter was reported early in the day.
- China’s position: the passage was an illegal intrusion infringing on Chinese sovereign rights.
- US position: no immediate response; the US frames such transits as routine freedom of navigation operations.
- Broader context: Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea; Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam hold overlapping claims.
A shoal at the centre of a long-running dispute
Sabina Shoal has become one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the South China Sea, where friction between China and the Philippines has grown sharply in recent years. Both countries claim sovereignty over the shoal and the wider Spratly archipelago, and the Philippines maintains a mutual defence treaty with the United States — meaning any escalation around the shoal carries wider security implications.
The latest incident follows a tense encounter near the same shoal last month, when a China Coast Guard vessel collided with a Philippine boat during a refuelling mission. The Philippine Coast Guard said the Chinese vessel rammed the boat, while China blamed the Philippine side for the collision. The episode underlined how quickly routine patrols and supply missions in the area can turn confrontational.
Tensions rising across the region
Tuesday’s encounter was not the only maritime friction reported in the region. In a separate incident, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said a Chinese Coast Guard ship had entered restricted waters near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, prompting Taiwanese vessel Taichung to issue warnings. The Pratas Islands lie between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong and are guarded by Taiwan’s Coast Guard rather than its navy.
The two incidents underline the volatility of a waterway where several countries operate in close quarters, and analysts warn that any miscalculation risks a broader confrontation. For further coverage of regional security developments, see Watan News International’s English edition.
