US denies Chinese claim it drove away American destroyer

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The United States denied Chinese claims Thursday that its military had driven away an American guided-missile destroyer from operating around disputed islands in the South China Sea, in an incident that comes as tensions in the region between the two powers continue to rise.

The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said a statement from China's Southern Theatre Command that it had forced the USS Milius away from waters around the Paracel Islands - called Xisha by China - was "false."

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"USS Milius is conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and was not expelled," said Lt. j.g. Luka Bakic. "The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows," Bakic added.

Bakic would not comment on whether the ship had been operating in immediate proximity of Paracel Islands, a few hundred kilometers (miles) off the coast of Vietnam and the Chinese province of Hainan, or whether there had been any confrontation. China occupies the Paracel Islands, but they are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

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