China's military said on Wednesday it monitored and "drove away" a U.S. destroyer that sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the strategic busy waterway of the South China Sea.
The first known U.S. military operation in at least six years within the shoal's waters came a day after the Philippines accused Chinese vessels of "dangerous maneuvres and unlawful interference" during a supply mission around the atoll.
In a statement, the Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command said the USS Higgins had entered the waters "without approval of the Chinese government" on Wednesday.
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