Washington, Feb 6 (UNI) A US warship on Saturday sailed close to the Paracel Islands, which is controlled by China in the disputed South China Sea, in what it called a freedom of navigation operation, the US Navy said.
China's military condemned the US action and said that it took counter measures by dispatching naval and air units to follow and warn away the American ship, Al Jazeera reported.
The busy waterway is one of the several flashpoints in the US-China relationship, which include a trade war, US sanctions, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, something the International Tribunal at The Hague has declared as being without merit.
China has been infuriated by repeated US expeditions near the islands that Beijing occupies and controls in the South China Sea.
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