China, US exchange accusations over US vessel in South China Sea

China and the United States traded accusations over the weekend over the disputed South China Sea, after China's navy claimed it had drove away a US destroyer on a normal freedom of navigation operation, according to the US Navy. According to a post on the Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command's official WeChat social media account on Saturday, the Chinese military sent its naval and air forces to "track, monitor, and warn away" the US warship. According to the US Navy, the Hopper "asserted navigational rights in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law."…