China on Friday accused the US of "provocative" conduct after two US warships sailed near islands claimed by Beijing this week, adding to tensions between the global powers.
The US Navy regularly conducts "freedom of navigation operations" in the disputed South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have competing claims.
The US Navy said the USS Gabrielle Giffords littoral combat ship sailed near Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands Wednesday, and the USS Wayne E. Meyer guided-missile destroyer passed the Paracel Islands on Thursday.
"USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) challenged the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and also contested China's claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands," Commander Reann Mommsen, spokeswoman for the US 7th Fleet based in Japan, told AFP.
"USS Gabrielle Giffords demonstrated that Mischief Reef, a low-tide elevation in its natural state, is not entitled to a territorial sea under international law."
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