New U.S.–China friction emerged after a U.S. warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on May 18 and entered the disputed waters of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on May 20.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) condemned the move, and the United States claimed innocent passage. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims the islands as its territory, calling them the Xisha Islands; they are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
