A US Navy destroyer has sailed close to a disputed South China Sea island controlled by China for the first time under new US President Donald Trump.
The USS Dewey sailed within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of Mischief Reef, in the Spratly Island chain, on Wednesday, in a "freedom of navigation operation," according to a US official.
While he didn't confirm details of this particular operation, Pentagon Spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea."
"We operate in accordance with international law. We fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," he added.
China has previously described such operations as a serious breach of law and an intentional provocation. The Pentagon said such operations were "not about any one country, or any one body of water."
The US regularly undertook freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea under former US President Barack Obama, but there had been suggestions the Trump administration was putting them off to avoid antagonizing China.
China claims ownership of the vast majority of the South China Sea, including the Paracel and Spratly island chains, a claim disputed by numerous other countries including the Philippines and Vietnam.
Earlier in the year, the US military had requested permission to perform a freedom of navigation operation but it was turned down by the Pentagon, as part of an effort to ease US China relations, a US defense official told CNN.