As tensions mount between the US and China over the South China Sea, the US Navy has sent an aircraft carrier on “routine operations” in the disputed waterway.

The Navy announced the deployment of the USS Carl Vinson and guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer to the South China Sea in a statement released on Saturday, despite warnings from Chinese officials not to challenge their sovereignty.

“China respects and upholds the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, which countries enjoy under international law, but firmly opposes any country’s attempt to undermine China’s sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea where it has built artificial islands equipped with military weapons.

An international court in the Hague condemned those claims in July, but China rejected the ruling.

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