China expels US Navy's frontline destroyer from South China Sea

China's military on Tuesday claimed to have "expelled" a US Navy destroyer which sailed through the disputed South China Sea challenging Beijing's claims over the area.

US naval ships regularly sail through the disputed South China Sea (SCS) in a bid to assert freedom of navigation in the region.

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.