Beijing, China - The Chinese military on Wednesday said that it "drove away" a US Navy destroyer after monitoring it near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

The US military was conducting its first operation in six years at the Scarborough Shoal when the incident took place, in an attempt to exert its "freedom of navigation" in the disputed waterway.

According to China's Southern Theatre Command, Beijing monitored and "drove away" the USS Higgins after it entered the shoal "without approval of the Chinese government."

"The US move seriously violated China's sovereignty and security, severely undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea," Beijing said, before promising to stay at "high alert" for future incursions.

China China and Russia launch new joint military drills in the Sea of Japan

China Chinese vessels collide during aggressive confrontation with Filipino coast guard

In a statement emailed to Reuters, the US Navy's Seventh Fleet said that the ship had been asserting its "navigational rights and freedoms" in a way that was "consistent with international law."

The incident comes a day after two Chinese vessels collided with each other near the Scarborough Shoal while in the process of intimidating nearby Filipino Coast Guard ships.

While China's Coast Guard said that the ships had been undertaking "necessary measures" to block the Filipino vessels from its sovereign territory, representatives in Manila accused Beijing of "reckless behavior" and intimidation.

A day later, the US Navy Destroyer was patrolling that same area in a show of force to reassert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

"The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here," the US official told Reuters. "Nothing China says otherwise will deter us."