You might have thought an American invasion of China was under way. A warship had "illegally entered" waters in the South China Sea threatening "China's sovereignty and security interest", declared Lu Rang, a Chinese spokesman. In fact, all that had happened was that a destroyer, USS Lassen, had peacefully sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef, one of seven specks of rock and coral in the much-disputed Spratly archipelago where China has been engaged in frenetic construction over the past two years, creating artificial islands.
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