A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near the China-claimed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Thursday in a "freedom of navigation" operation, the 7th Fleet said.
The operation involving the guided-missile destroyer Curtis Wilbur comes as China has rattled the region in recent years through large-scale island-building and base construction activities in the sea.
The Chinese military's Southern Theater Command issued a statement through its spokesperson on the same day condemning the U.S. warship's passage through the islands' vicinity as an intrusion into Chinese territory and a violation of its sovereignty and safety.
The 7th Fleet said in a statement that "unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight."
"The United States challenges excessive maritime claims around the world regardless of the identity of the claimant," the statement added.
The Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
On Tuesday, the Curtis Wilbur sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a sensitive waterway separating mainland China and Taiwan, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command the following day.
China regards the democratic, self-ruled island as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
"The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows," the 7th Fleet said.
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