China Finds Missile Explorer USS Chancellorsville Near The Spratly Islands, USA: In Accordance With International Law

USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) missile cruiser. (Wikimedia Commons/US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dylan McCord)

JAKARTA - The Chinese military said on Tuesday it expelled a US missile cruiser that 'illegally infiltrated' waters near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, a statement the US Navy denies.

"US military action strongly violates China's sovereignty and security," Tian Junli, spokesman for the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command, told Reuters on Nov. 29.

The ship in question is the Cycling Missile Explorer USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) which recently sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

In a statement, the US Navy said the Chinese statement was "wrong", calling it "the latest of a long series of incorrect PRC actions describing legitimate US maritime operations".

"USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) conducts this FONOP in accordance with international law, then proceeds to carry out normal operations in waters where the freedom of the high seas applies," the statement said, referring to its "operation of navigational freedom" with its military acronym.

"The United States defends the right of every country to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," the statement continued.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea has turned these waters into one of many turning points in a difficult relationship between China and the United States.

Meanwhile, the United States rejected what it called China's territorial claims, which violate the law in the resource-rich waters.

The Chinese military said the passage of US cruisers showed Washington was a "security risk maker" in the South China Sea.

Regarding that, the Chinese military said its troops would remain vigilant, the Southern Theater Command wrote on WeChat's social media accounts.

It is known that US warships have passed the South China Sea with increasing frequency in recent years, in a bid to show China's claims are invalid.