An American warship has sailed through waters off the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in the latest implicit challenge to Beijing's sweeping territorial claims in the region, the Pentagon said on Sunday. "Guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur conducted a freedom of navigation operation, " an official told AFP. "Decatur sialesd within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands."

'US warship sails near South China Sea area'. (2018, October 2). The Philippine Star, p.13.