The Chinese military on Thursday confirmed that it had tracked a US warship in the South China Sea and "warned it to leave" Chinese waters.

The Southern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) indicated that the USS Milius, a guided missile destroyer, on Thursday entered waters around the Paracel Islands.

The People's Liberation Army "organised sea and air forces to track and monitor (the ship) in accordance with the law" and "warned it to leave," Spokesperson Tian Junli pointed out.

According to Tian, the vessel "made an illegal incursion into Chinese territorial waters... without permission from the Chinese government, harming peace and stability" in the region.

"The theater forces will maintain a high state of alert at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the South China Sea," the Chinese Spokesperson also affirmed.

On its part, a spokesperson for US Indo-Pacific Command told AFP that the Chinese statement "is false", claiming that the vessel "is conducting routine operations in the South China Sea and was not expelled."

"The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," the Spokesperson said.

It is noteworthy that China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea -- a strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars in trade pass annually. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei all have overlapping claims in the sea.

On December 29, 2022, the US Indo-Pacific Command military claimed in a statement that the Chinese J-11 fighter jet had come within six meters of a US RC-135 aircraft, forcing it to carry out a maneuver to evade a collision.

Back then, the Chinese Defense Ministry accused the US of "slander" and "hype", pointing out that the US aircraft violated international law and confronted a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea.

Read more: US flying aircraft to South China Sea a muscle flex: Chinese diplomat