Washington: An American warship on Sunday sailed close to a disputed island in the South China Sea occupied by Beijing as part of an operation to demonstrate freedom of navigation  in the waters, a US official said.

The destroyer USS Stethem passed less than 22 kilometers from tiny Triton Island in the Paracel Islands archipelago, which is also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam, the official said.

The operation, which is likely to provoke Beijing, is the second of its kind carried out by the United States since President Donald Trump took office.

The first was on May 25, when the USS Dewey, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed less than 12 nautical miles from Mischief Reef — part of the disputed Spratly Islands south of the Paracel Islands.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, despite partial counter-claims from Taiwan and several southeast Asian nations.

The United Nations says countries can establish the reach of their territorial waters up to a limit of 12 nautical miles.