China Says US Vessel Violates UN, Chinese Law

China has said that a U.S. navy vessel, which conducted activities in China's special economic zone in the South China Sea, violated the international and Chinese laws.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said China has lodged a solemn representation to the United States as the US navy surveillance ship Impeccable conducted activities in the South China Sea without China's permission.

"We demand that the United States put an immediate stop to related activities and take effective measures to prevent similar acts from happening."

The Pentagon accused that Chinese ships, including a naval vessel, harassed the US vessel in international waters on Sunday.

Ma Zhaoxu said "the U.S. claims are gravely in contravention of the facts and confuse black and white and they are totally unacceptable to China".

He added that the UN and Chinese laws have clear regulations on foreign vessels' activities in China's exclusive economic zones. The Chinese government always handles such activities strictly in accordance with these laws and regulations.