ANKARA

China claimed on Saturday that the US missile destroyer "Hopper" illegally entered Chinese territorial waters in the South China Sea.

"On November 25, US missile destroyer ‘Hopper’ illegally entered China's territorial waters in the Xisha Islands without China's approval," state-run Global Times quoted the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command spokesperson as saying.

"The PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval and aerial forces to lawfully track, monitor, warn and expel the intruder," it added.

This week, the US and the Philippines conducted joint air and maritime patrols, involving the two air forces and navies, in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, which culminated on Thursday.

Earlier, the official Chinese media said the PLA remained on “high alert” in the South China Sea during the three-day joint US-Philippines air and maritime patrols.

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the region by several sovereign states, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid