The U.S. Navy announced Saturday that an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer were deployed to the South China Sea.

The Navy said the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Wayne E. Meyer were sent to the South China Sea on routine operations, despite warnings from Beijing not to challenge its sovereignty.

China respects and upholds the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, which countries enjoy under international law, but firmly opposes any countrys attempt to undermine Chinas sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight, Chinas foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

The naval ships will likely sail within the 12 nautical miles of Chinas artificial islands, the Navy Times reported last week.

U.S. Navy leaders believe that freedom of navigation operations help secure U.S. influence in the region, while China claims the operations are a challenge to claim territory.

Navy warships have deliberately sailed close to Chinese-occupied features four times since October 2015, ignoring Beijing's sovereignty claims. The first three missions challenged China's requirement for ships to obtain permission prior to transit, while the last one challenged China's sovereignty over waters encompassing the Paracels.

Some criticized the Obama administration for curtailing freedom of navigation operations and allowing China to build military installations on seven artificial islands in the disputed waters. Trump's Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said recently that such operations will continue while also ruling out any military escalation.

"Any miscalculation from either side may escalate tensions, which could spin out of control," Zhiqun Zhu, who heads The China Institute at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, told the Navy Times. "China is unlikely to cave in no matter what the U.S. military does in the South China Sea. Cooler heads are needed from both sides, not moves to unnecessarily provoke the other side."

While the USS Carl Vinson and USS Wayne E. Meyer are set to sail through the disputed territory, China dispatched its own fleet for scheduled drills.

The missile destroyers Changsha and Haikou and the supply ship Luomahu wrapped up weeklong exercises on Friday. The fleet includes three helicopters and marines on board.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the drills involved naval aviation forces and military garrisons from the Spratlys and the Paracels, as well as elements of the Beihai and Donghai fleets. They practiced air defense, escorting, anti-terror, anti-piracy and defensive operations under real combat conditions, Xinhua said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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US Navy sends warships on freedom of navigation operation through South China Sea - Fox News