China has been embroiled in territorial disputes with smaller neighbors including Vietnam and the Philippines over islands, reefs and lagoons in the South China Sea.
The footage — obtained by the South China Morning Post newspaper purportedly from the British Ministry of Defence ― shows a Chinese Luyang-class destroyer nearing the port side of the American guided-missile destroyer Decatur.
Adm. John Richardson, who heads U.S. naval operations, said in a news conference with Philippine military officials in Manila on Monday that such patrols highlight the U.S. position against “illegitimate maritime claims.”