The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war, US sanctions and Taiwan.
President Donald Trump dramatically increased pressure on China to reach a trade deal by threatening to hike US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this week and soon target hundreds of billions more.
COMMANDER CLAIMS AN “INNOCENT PASSAGE”
The US guided-missile destroyers Preble and Chung Hoon traveled within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs in the Spratly Islands, a US military spokesman told Reuters.
Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the Seventh Fleet, said the “innocent passage” aimed “to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law”.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the US ships entered the waters near the islets without the Chinese government’s permission, and the Chinese navy warned them to leave.