US Navy ship passes disputed islands claimed by China

October 27, 2015 09:40

A US Navy ship passed within 12 nautical miles of disputed islands in the South China Sea late Monday in an apparent challenge to China's territorial claims in the region.

A defense official told the Associated Press that the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, moved inside what China claims as a 12-mile territorial limit around Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago, a disputed group of hundreds of reefs, islets, atolls and islands in the South China.

The official said the patrol took place without incident.

"We are conducting routine operations in the South China Sea in accordance with international law," a senior defense official told Fox News.

"We will fly, sail, and operate anywhere in the world that international law allows."

The Navy's plan to send a destroyer near the Spratly Islands was first reported by Reuters.

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