China condemned the US action as provocative.
A top Republican senator has welcomed the move to send a US guided missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of an island in the disputed South China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam "to challenge excessive maritime claims" that restrict freedom of navigation.
"I am encouraged to hear that the US Navy has conducted a freedom of navigation operation near Triton Island in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea," Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Saturday.
This operation challenged excessive maritime claims that restrict the rights and freedoms of the US and other nations under international law, he said. "I continue to hope these operations will become so routine that China and other claimants will come to accept them as normal occurrences and releasing press statements to praise them will no longer be necessary," McCain said.
The "freedom of navigation operation" was conducted yesterday near Triton Island in the South China Sea, rich in natural resources and a major shipping lane. Over half of the world's commercial shipping passes through the Indo-Pacific waterways including one-third of the world's liquefied natural gas.
The development comes three months after US warship USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island Beijing is building in the Spratly Islands, triggering a major face-off. The US Navy conducted a similar exercise in October in which the guided-missile destroyer Lassen sailed close to one of China's man-made islands, also drawing a rebuke from Beijing.
China condemned the US action as provocative. "The American warship has violated relevant Chinese laws by entering Chinese territorial waters without prior permission, and the Chinese side has taken relevant measures including monitoring and admonishments," China's foreign ministry said.
China's defence ministry calling the American action "intentionally provocative and "irresponsible and extremely dangerous". The ministry also said that Chinese navy vessels had taken responsive action, conducted identification checks and promptly gave warnings for the ship to keep its distance.
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