The US Navy said on Saturday that a destroyer traveled near the disputed Spratly Islands, marking the second such "freedom of navigation" drill in the South China Sea in a week.

On Wednesday, China's navy said it had "driven away" the same ship, the USS Benfold, as it traveled near the disputed Paracel Islands.

The United States undertakes regular freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, protesting what it alleges are constraints on innocent passage imposed by China and other claimants.

"On July 16, USS Benfold (DDG 65) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law," the US Navy said in a statement.

China insists it does not block free navigation or overflight, accusing the US of raising tensions on purpose.

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A few days earlier, a spokesperson for the Chinese military said that the USS Benfold entered Chinese waters off the disputed Xisha Islands, also known as the Paracel Islands, in the South China Sea without Beijing's permission, undermining regional peace and stability once again.

Beijing added that its military had "driven away" the ship after it illegally entered territorial waters.

In a statement, the spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army Chinese Air Force Senior Colonel Tian Junli said: "On January 13, the US guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold trespassed into China's territorial waters off Xisha Islands without the Chinese government's permission.”

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The US military actions have seriously violated China's national sovereignty and security, undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea, and violated international law, according to the spokesperson.