China's military says it 'drove away' US destroyer in waters of Scarborough Shoal

BEIJING: China's military said on Wednesday that it monitored and "drove away" the U.S. destroyer USS Higgins in the waters of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

The destroyer had entered the waters "without the approval of the Chinese government" on Wednesday, the military's Southern Theater Command said in a statement.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and its embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.