US destroyer sails near disputed island in South China Sea

The US Navy conducted a "freedom of navigation exercise" around Triton Island in the Paracel archipelago, which is claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. As part of the exercise, the guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem came within 12 miles of Triton, sailing into what China claims to be its territorial waters. The US does not recognize Beijing's claim of sovereignty over the islands, which it has occupied and on which it has been building fortifications.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the exercise. "Beijing has undertaken substantial upgrades of its military infrastructure in the Paracels," according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies' Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. The top US commander in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, told an audience in Australia on Wednesday that "Fake islands should not be believed by real people," in reference to China's land reclamation activities.

"I believe the Chinese are building up combat power and positional advantage in an attempt to assert de facto sovereignty over disputed maritime features and spaces in the South China," Harris added.

A spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet, Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, could not confirm Sunday's exercise but told CNN they are a routine part of US Navy operations. The "excessive maritime claims" of 22 countries were challenged in the past fiscal year, he said.

Sunday's exercise comes days after the Trump administration made a number of moves that appeared to irk Beijing, including sanctions against Chinese entities doing business with North Korea and the approval of a new arms sale to Taiwan. Sunday's operation was the second reported under the Trump administration. The first came on May 24, when the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey sailed within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands chain, which lies to the south of the Paracels.

After that operation, China's defense ministry said two Chinese frigates had "warned and dispelled" the USS Dewey after it had entered its waters "without permission." "We firmly opposed to the US behavior of showing force and boosting regional militarization, and have made solemn representation to the US side," Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said at the time. China did not respond on Sunday to a CNN request for comment on the Stethem's operation. Fox News first reported Sunday's exercise. China has said previously it is within its rights to do as it pleases with the islands, which it considers Chinese territory.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump to speak by telephone with the leaders of China and Japan on Sunday, in talks likely to be dominated by North Korea's nuclear drive and the threats posed by its belligerent leadership. The Trump administration has been growing increasingly exasperated with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's regime, which has staged a barrage of missile tests in recent months. Trump had been pinning his hopes on China North Korea's main diplomatic ally to bring pressure to bear on Pyongyang.