US destroyer sails near Chinese island amid rising trade war fears

A US navy photo of American warships operating in formation in the disputed South China Sea.

A US Navy destroyer has sailed close to a Chinese-built island in the disputed South China and carried out maneuver operations there, amid rising diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The USS Dewey traveled within 12 nautical miles of the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, known as Nansha in China, US officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Friday.

The South China Sea is the subject of a territorial dispute between China and its neighbors, including Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. The US has sides with China’s rivals in the dispute.

Beijing has repeatedly slammed Washington’s so-called freedom of navigation operations in the disputed waters, saying the US is militarizing the sea and deliberately escalating the situation in the key trade route.

China has not made any comments on the Reuters report yet.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese military’s official newspaper said the navy is set to stage combat drills in the disputed South China Sea as part of regular annual exercises.

“This is a routine annual planned arrangement for the navy, the aim of which is to test and improve the military’s training level and to fully raise the ability to win. It is not aimed at any specific country or target,” the People’s Liberation Army Daily said, without providing further details.

It is not the first time a US warship enters the disputed South China Sea, but the report comes less than a day after US President Donald Trump infuriated Beijing by signing an order that paves the way for imposing tariffs on as much as $60 billion worth of Chinese goods imports.

In response, China announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of imports from the US, emphasizing that it does not fear a trade war with the US.

Beijing also warned that such measures would put the two economies on course for a trade war.

“If a trade war were initiated by the US, China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures,” China's embassy in Washington said in a statement released on Thursday.