China said it expelled a Dutch warship that entered its waters, a rare incident between the two navies that underscores tensions over contested boundaries in the South China Sea.
China’s navy and air forces used “necessary measures including voice warnings and cautionary electronic interference” after the HNLMS De Ruyter frigate appeared off the Paracel islands and repeatedly launched a helicopter that violated Chinese airspace, according to a statement from the military on Wednesday.
“China is resolutely opposed” to the Dutch behavior, the Southern Theater Command said, warning such encounters could “very easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments.”
The Dutch Ministry of Defence didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the episode.
The frigate is part of a five-month mission by the Dutch navy that aims to promote freedom of navigation and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. The vessel just finished a goodwill stop in Manila, where it drilled with Philippine forces.
The incident between the Chinese and Dutch forces shows how tensions remain over the South China Sea. Beijing claims some four-fifths of the body of water as its own and bristles at the appearance of foreign warships. The sea has long been a source of tension between China and the Philippines, with the two making overlapping claims over reefs and small islands in the area.
Commander Rodger de Wit of the HNLMS De Ruyter said last week that a People’s Liberation Army helicopter approached the frigate in waters off the Philippines in an encounter he described as “really professional on both sides,” according to the Manila Bulletin.
Ties between China and the Netherlands became strained last year when the Dutch government seized control of Nexperia, a key supplier of mature chips to the automotive and consumer electronics industries. China’s Wingtech Technology Co. has sued Nexperia and related parties in a Chinese court, seeking at least 8 billion yuan in damages and restoration of control over its Dutch chipmaking unit.
Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma will lead a delegation to Beijing in early July, the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday — a visit that could lead to an improvement in ties.
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