Beijing, China - China's military said on Tuesday it sent forces to "track and monitor" a US Navy vessel that sailed through disputed waters in the South China Sea.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) said the USS Charleston, a littoral combat ship, "illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Xianbin Jiao," using China's name for the contested Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Taiwan each claim parts or all of the island chain, which sits off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Beijing's PLA "dispatched forces to track and monitor the US vessel in accordance with laws and regulations," the army's Southern Theater Command said in a statement on social media.

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It also accused the US Navy of infringing upon China's sovereignty, warning Americans to "immediately cease such activities."

Washington is a close ally of Manila, and US forces regularly operate in the contested waters.

The Philippines on Tuesday refuted Beijing's claims that the American ship trespassed into Chinese territory.

"No single nation has the authority to require prior permission for lawful transit through international waters," Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters.

On Tuesday morning, Trinidad warned China to stop "coercive and aggressive actions," without explicitly confirming the USS Charleston's whereabouts.

The US Pacific Command did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.