本周，美国海军驾驶第二艘船穿越南中国海，进一步挑战北京方面对争议海域的主权主张。此前，在争议地区紧张局势升级和全球疫情蔓延之际，中国人民解放军(PLA)宣称驱逐了第一艘船。

美国海军在一份声明中称，巴里号航空母舰周二执行了“航行自由行动”新闻周刊。他们的使命是维护“国际法承认的海洋权利、自由和合法使用”

“在南中国海的非法和广泛的海洋主张对海洋自由构成了前所未有的威胁，包括航行和飞越自由以及所有船只无害通过的权利，”海军表示。

事件发生后，负责监管争议地区的中国人民解放军南方战区司令部在中国社交媒体上发表声明，称其军队的回应是将美国海军巴里号赶出岛链。中国人民解放军表示，军舰和飞机被派去“跟踪、监控、核实、识别和驱逐”美国军舰离开帕拉塞尔岛。

中国军方还指责美国从事“挑衅行为”，严重违反了“国际法和中国的主权和安全利益”据报道，中国人民解放军在一份向中国军方社交媒体发布的声明中称，美国海军的行动“与当前国际社会打击COVID-19的共同努力不相容”南华早报。

“美国方面的这些挑衅行为...严重侵犯了中国的主权和安全利益，故意增加地区安全风险，很容易引发突发事件。”

尽管解放军称他们驱逐了巴里，但海军发言人否认了这一说法，并表示新闻周刊周三，“所有发生的互动都符合海事规范”

周三早些时候，美国海军与美国军舰邦克山号在南沙群岛进行了第二次“航行自由行动”。在致新闻周刊一名海军发言人表示，本周的两次行动都“符合国际法”

这位发言人补充说:“这种航行自由的行动通过挑战中国、越南和台湾对无害通过的限制，维护了国际法承认的海洋的权利、自由和合法使用。”。

在这份由美国海军发布的讲义中，美国海军导弹驱逐舰巴里号(DDG 52)于2011年5月14日在地中海的海上航行。

此前一周，北京方面通过下令对争议地区进行行政重组，加强了对该地区的控制。中国当局引入了两个新的市辖区，分割了西沙群岛和南沙群岛的控制权，南沙群岛最初由中国海南省的三沙岛管理。

另一项加强领土控制的举措是，北京当局宣布了中国南海80个岛屿和其他地区的官方中文名称。

华盛顿对北京对争议海域的主权主张提出异议，包括西沙群岛，越南和台湾也宣称对该地区拥有主权。

这两个国家最近几周就各自对全球冠状病毒大流行的处理进行了交锋，双方都试图将责任推给对方。美国人曾多次抨击中国，称其隐瞒了疾病起源的信息。去年12月下旬，中国首次发现了这种病毒，随后病毒在全球传播。

美国国务卿星期三早上在福克斯新闻上露面时加大了指控力度。庞贝说:“中国共产党现在有责任告诉世界，这种流行病是如何从中国蔓延到全世界，造成如此严重的全球经济灾难的。”。“美国需要让他们负起责任。”

唐纳德·特朗普总统还批评了世界卫生组织，称其“从表面上”获取了中国有关该病毒的信息“他们误导了我们，”特朗普在最近白宫会见路易斯安那州州长约翰·贝尔·爱德华兹时说道。“它们实际上是中国的管风琴。”

北京方面为自己对冠状病毒的处理进行了辩护，并指责美国领导人在说谎

中国外交部发言人耿爽在周二的新闻发布会上说，“美国政客们一再无视事实，并且一直在赤裸裸地撒谎。”。“他们只有一个目标:推卸自己在防疫和控制措施上的责任，转移公众的注意力。”

新闻周刊联系中国驻华盛顿大使馆寻求评论。这个故事将会随着任何评论而更新。

NAVY SENDS SECOND SHIP INTO DISPUTED WATERS AFTER CHINA CLAIMS IT SCRAMBLED JETS TO EXPEL U.S. DESTROYER

A U.S. Navy sailed a second ship through the South China Seas this week, further challenging Beijing's claim to the disputed waters after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) claimed that it expelled the first ship amid escalating tensions over the disputed region and the global pandemic.

The USS Barry carried out the "freedom of navigation operation" on Tuesday, the Navy said in a statement to Newsweek. Their mission was to maintain the "rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law."

"Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose an unprecedented threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships," the Navy said.

After the incident, the PLA's Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the disputed region, released a statement on Chinese social media claiming that their forces responded by forcing the USS Barry out of the island chain. The PLA said that ships and aircrafts were sent to "track, monitor, verify, identify and expel" the American warship from Paracel Island.

The Chinese military also accused the U.S. of seriously violating "international law and China's sovereignty and security interests" by engaging in "provocative acts." The U.S. Navy's action was "incompatible with the current joint efforts of the international community to fight against the COVID-19," the PLA said in a statement shared to the military's Chinese social media, according to the South China Morning Post.

"These provocative acts by the U.S. side ... seriously violated China's sovereignty and security interests, deliberately increased regional security risks and could easily trigger an unexpected incident."

While the PLA said they expelled Barry, a Navy spokesperson denied the claim, telling Newsweek on Wednesday that "all interactions that occurred were in accordance with maritime norms."

Earlier on Wednesday, the U.S. Navy carried out a second "freedom of navigation operation" in the Spratly Islands with the USS Bunker Hill. In a statement to Newsweek, a Navy spokesperson said both operations this week were "consistent with international law."

"This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan," the spokesperson added.

In this handout released by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) is underway in Mediterranean Sea on May 14, 2011 at sea.

The move came one week after Beijing tightened its grip on the disputed area by ordering an administrative reorganization of the area's territories. Chinese authorities introduced two new municipal districts, slicing control of the Paracel and Spratly island groups, which was originally managed by Sansha, in China's Hainan province.

In another move that strengthened their territorial control, Beijing authorities announced official Chinese names for 80 islands and other regions in the South China Sea.

Washington disputes much of Beijing's claim to the disputed sea, including Paracel island, a region that Vietnam and Taiwan also claims.

The two nations have traded jabs in recent weeks over their respective handling of the global coronavirus pandemic, with each attempting to shift blame onto the other. American has repeatedly lashed out at China, where the virus was first identified in late December before it then spread around the world, for allegedly hiding information about the origin of the disease.

U.S. Secretary of State ramped up the accusations during an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday morning. "The Chinese Communist Party now has a responsibility to tell the world how this pandemic got out of China and all across the world, causing such global economic devastation," Pompeo said. "America needs to hold them accountable."

President Donald Trump has also criticized the World Health Organization for allegedly taking China's information about the virus at "face value." "They misled us," Trump said during a recent White House meeting with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. "They're literally a pipe organ for China."

Beijing defended its handling of the coronavirus and has accused the U.S. leaders of telling "barefaced lies."

"American politicians have repeatedly ignored the truth and have been telling barefaced lies," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press conference on Tuesday. "They have only one objective: shirk their responsibility for their own poor epidemic prevention and control measures, and divert public attention."

Newsweek reached out to China's embassy in Washington D.C. for comment. This story will be updated with any comment.