A U.S. warship sailed close to disputed islands in the South China Sea on Friday, exercising its right to navigate through international waters amid Beijing's aggressive territorial claims in the region.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Gary Ross, told the Associated Press that the USS Decatur conducted the operation near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Friday. China has conducted reclamation on the Paracel Islands, which Vietnam and Taiwan also claim as territory.
The United States has periodically sailed warships close to disputed islands in the South China Sea to challenge China's aggressive territorial claims and island-building, drawing ire from Beijing.
Ross said the operation was conducted "in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident" and that it "demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea."
A U.S. official told the Navy Times that the warship did not sail within 12 nautical miles of the disputed island chain, in keeping with the rules of "innocent passage."
Though China lays claim to most of the South China Sea, an international tribunal ruled in July that Beijing's territorial claims have no basis in law or history. Beijing has rejected the ruling, despite the U.S. and other powers urging it to accept the decision.
Friday's operation appears to be the first close pass of disputed territory in the South China Sea by an American warship since the July ruling by the tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.
Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said in July that the Navy would continue to conduct operations in the South China Sea to enforce freedom of navigation through sea and airspace. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has also called for more joint patrols in the Asia-Pacific amid high regional tensions related to Beijing's aggressive behavior.
Many U.S. officials and experts have accused China of pursuing "militarization" in the South China Sea by building airstrips and reinforced hangars on disputed features.
Some experts have criticized the Obama administration's policy toward Beijing in regards to the South China Sea, arguing that the government has not done enough militarily and diplomatically to deter China's actions.