US Navy Disputes Chinese Military Claim Against a US Missile Cruiser

The U.S. Navy is disputing a claim from the Chinese military. Beijing said it drove away a U.S. guided-missile cruiser that allegedly "illegally intruded" into waters near the South China Sea's Spratly Islands. According to a spokesman for the Chinese Military's Southern Theatre Command, China believes "the actions of the U.S. military seriously violated China's sovereignty and security." A U.S. Navy statement called the Chinese side's description "false." They added that it's "the latest in a long string of PRC actions to misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime operations." The ship in question is called the USS Chancellorsville guided-missile cruiser. It recently sailed through the Taiwan Strait. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own territory—a claim the U.S. rejects.