The United States and Chinese militaries exchanged protests on Tuesday after a US Navy warship performed a "freedom of navigation operation" in the disputed South China Sea.

China deemed the presence of the missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville illegal, saying that the operation seriously violated its sovereignty and security, accusing the US of pursuing "navigational hegemony and militarisation of the South China Sea." The country employed its forces to drive off the ship, defending its "indisputable sovereignty" over the region, the military added.

The US Navy's 7th Fleet responded by calling the objections "the latest in a long string of [China's] actions to misrepresent lawful US maritime operations and assert its excessive and illegitimate maritime claims." Earlier in November, US Vice President Kamala Harris visited Palawan, the closest Philippine landmass to the Spratly archipelago where the disputed maritime maneuvers took place today.