Chinese military says it ࢀ˜expelledࢀ™ US naval ship from South China Sea

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. China has impeded commercial activity like fishing or mineral exploration by countries like Vietnam and the Philippines. On Tuesday, the Chinese Peopleࢀ™s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said that the US destroyer USS John S McCain ࢀœtrespassed into waters near Chinaࢀ™s Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands), without the authorisation of the Chinese governmentࢀ. ࢀœThe PLA Southern Theatre Command organised naval and…