A day after a United States warship patrolled the disputed South China Sea, Beijing called it an irresponsible move and warned that a deliberate provocation would have "extremely dangerous consequences" to regional stability, reported PTI. China's Defence Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun said that the country's armed forces will take necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and security.

Yujun said the US' act severely violated Chinese law, sabotaged the peace, security and good order of the waters, and undermined the region's peace and stability. The official Xinhua news agency reported that the move to send a warship to the disputed region has generated a Chinese outcry on the Internet. China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

The USS Curtis Wilbur (pictured above) sailed within 12 nautical miles of an island claimed by China and two other states in the South China Sea on Saturday.