China says a U.S. Navy ship 'illegally intruded' into waters in the South China Sea

Open this photo in gallery: In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, suspected Chinese militia ships stay near the Philippine-claimed reef called Whitsun, locally known as Julian Felipe reef, at the disputed South China Sea on Dec. 2.The Associated Press The Chinese military said that an American naval ship had "illegally intruded" on Monday into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, the site of a hot territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. A Chinese naval force was mobilized to track the USS Gabrielle Giffords during the operation, according to a statement…