BEIJING: China strongly condemned the United States (US) after a US warship deliberately sailed near one of the Beijing-controlled islands in the hotly contested South China Sea to exercise freedom of navigation and challenge China's vast territorial claims.

The missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) of Triton Island in the Paracel chain "to challenge excessive maritime claims of parties that claim the Paracel Islands", without notifying the three claimants beforehand, Defence Department spokesman Mark Wright said Saturday in Washington.

China, Taiwan and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the Paracels and require prior notice from ships transiting what they consider their territorial waters.

The latest operation was particularly aimed at China, which has increased tensions with the US and its Southeast Asian neighbours by embarking on massive construction of man-made islands and airstrips in contested areas.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said that Vietnam respects "innocent passage" of ships through territorial waters in line with international law.

State media quoted Binh as reiterating Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracels and Spratlys and calling on nations to actively and practically contribute to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

In October, another US warship sailed in the nearby Spratly Islands near Subi Reef, where China has built one of seven artificial islands.

Wright said the attempts to restrict navigational rights by requiring prior notice are inconsistent with international law. US officials said that such ship movements would be regular in the future.

China responded swiftly. Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun issued a statement saying the US action "severely violated Chinese law, sabotaged the peace, security and good order of the waters, and undermined the region' s peace and stability," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

According to Yang, Chinese troops on the island and navy vessels and warplanes took actions immediately, identified the US warship and "warned and expelled it swiftly".

He said that the US operation was "very unprofessional and irresponsible for the safety of the troops of both sides, and may cause extremely dangerous consequences."

Chinese armed forces will take whatever measures "necessary to safeguard China's sovereignty and security, no matter what provocations the US side may take," Yang said.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said separately that the Chinese side conducted surveillance and "vocal warnings to the US warship."

China claims almost the entire South China Sea and its islands, reefs and atolls on historic grounds. The area has some of the world's busiest shipping lanes, and US officials say ensuring freedom of navigation is in US national interests, while not taking sides in the territorial disputes.

China seized the unpopulated Triton Island, an area of 1.2 square kilometres, from former South Vietnam in 1974.

In May 2014, China parked a huge oil drilling platform off the Vietnamese coast in the area, prompting Vietnam to send fishing boats and coast guard vessels to harass the rig and nearby Chinese vessels. Skirmishes led to collisions and the capsizing of at least one Vietnamese boat.