US Navy denies illegal entry into South China Sea waters.

The US Navy's 7th Fleet denied China's claim that it had driven away an American guided-missile destroyer from operating around disputed islands in the South China Sea. The US Navy stated that the USS Milius was conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and was not expelled. China occupies the Paracel Islands, but they are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The incident comes amid growing tensions between China and the United States in the region, as Washington pushes back at Beijing's growingly assertive posture in the South China Sea and elsewhere.