China, US cry crime and misdemeanour as warship tests Beijing's new law at Mischief Reef

The United States and China have traded accusations after an American warship sailed near a disputed South China Sea reef, in what an expert called the first challenge to Beijing's new regulation aimed at strengthening its maritime claims. The Chinese military said the US guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold on Wednesday entered what it called China's territorial waters near Mischief Reef, in the disputed Spratly Islands, without the approval of the Beijing government. The US Navy later accused China of misrepresenting its lawful maritime operations. It was the first flashpoint since Beijing introduced a regulation requiring notification from foreign vessels entering…