US warship warned off after entering Chinese waters

This image released by the US Navy on Aug 28 12, 2017, shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) off the coast of Guam, Aug 28, 2017. - US NAVY / AFP

BEIJING (China Daily/Asia News Network): The Chinese military sent air and naval forces to monitor and then warn off a United States Navy warship from waters near the Meiji Reef in the South China Sea on Wednesday (Sept 8), according to a People's Liberation Army spokesman.

Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for the PLA Southern Theater Command, said in a statement that the USS Benfold trespassed in waters near the reef earlier Wednesday without permission from the Chinese government.