A partial view of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely. (EPA Images pic)BEIJING: China's military said on Tuesday it had sent forces to watch a US warship that "illegally" entered waters around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, while further north in the waterway, Taiwan reported a standoff with a Chinese ship.

China views almost all of the busy South China Sea as its own territory, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, with recent tension most pronounced between Beijing and Manila.

The Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command said the USS Charleston "illegally intruded" into waters adjacent to Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without Chinese government approval in the early hours of Tuesday.