US Warships Sail in Disputed South China Sea, Angering China

An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on mischief reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, on May 11, 2015. Ritchie B. Tongo/Pool/Reuters

WASHINGTON—U.S. Navy warships twice sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea in the past few days, the U.S. military told Reuters on Nov. 21, at a time of heightened tension between the world’s two largest economies.

The busy waterway is one of a number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions, Hong Kong and Taiwan.