China denounced what it called an illegal, dangerous and provocative act by the United States Tuesday, after a U.S. warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea.
China said it had monitored, followed and warned the USS Lassen as it passed close to the Subi reef in the Spratly archipelago.
But a U.S. defense official said the mission had been completed on Tuesday “without incident.”
The U.S action is intended to uphold the principle of freedom of navigation in the international waters of the South China Sea, U.S. officials said, and underscores that Washington does not accept China’s claim to territorial waters around artificially built islands.
The USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, was accompanied by Navy surveillance planes, the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
