BEIJING — Beijing expressed ‘‘serious concern’’ Thursday about a reported US plan to challenge China’s South China Sea territorial claims by sailing a Navy ship near one of its newly built artificial islands.
The US newspaper Navy Times reported on Wednesday that the Navy may soon receive approval for the mission to sail inside the 12-nautical mile territorial limit surrounding one of the man-made structures.
That would drive home Washington’s stance that the artificial islands do not constitute sovereign territory and build a legal case under international law for the US position, the newspaper said.
Five other governments also claim the region in part or in total. The United States doesn’t take a formal position on sovereignty but insists on freedom of navigation in the vital sea lanes and airspace above.
Asked about the report at a daily briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has long made clear its position on the South China Sea, which Beijing claims along with its islands, reefs, and atolls.
‘‘I have not noticed the latest report you have mentioned. However, having heard what you said, we express serious concern about it,’’ Hua said.
China and the United States have discussed the issue on numerous occasions, including during President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington last month, Hua said.
The Navy Times report said rumors have been circulating since May about plans to send a ship through China’s claimed territorial waters. It cited three Pentagon officials speaking on background as saying that Navy officials now believe ‘‘approval of the mission is imminent.’’
It’s not clear how China might respond to such an action, although Beijing issued a formal protest over an incident in May in which a Chinese navy dispatcher demanded eight times that a US Navy P8-A Poseidon surveillance aircraft leave the area as it flew over Fiery Cross Reef, where China has conducted extensive reclamation work.
The US crew responded that the plane was flying through international air space.