A United States Navy warship on Friday passed through waters claimed by China near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the Defense Department said, drawing Chinese condemnation. A department spokesman, Navy Commodore Gary Ross, said the destroyer ship USS Decatur conducted the transit operation near the Paracel Islands. He said it was done "in a routine, lawful manner without shop escorts and without incident." The US Navy has now conducted four freedom-of-navigation operations in the past year in the South China Sea, where China has reclaimed land on a massive scale to assert its claim to disputed features - mostly in the Spratly islands that lie further south.

US Navy destroyer conducts operation in South China Sea (2016, October 23). Panay News, p. 11.