A U.S. naval ship conducted Monday the first known freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, a move condemned by China as “illegal.”

“On December 4, the USS Giffords littoral combat ship trespassed into the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands without the approval of the Chinese government,” Col. Tian Junli, spokesman for the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command, said in a statement.

Read More–>US ship conducts navigation operation near Second Thomas Shoal