The United States is reportedly sending two aircraft carriers and several warships to the South China Sea despite China's warning of U.S. interference in China's military drills in the region.
The USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz are set to hold some of the U.S. Navy's largest exercises in recent years in the South China Sea from Saturday, reported The Wall Street Journal.
The move came after China rebuked U.S. accusation that China's military drill destabilizes the situation in the region on Friday.
In response to U.S. Defense Department's "concerns" over China's military drills in the region, the Chinese Foreign Ministry asserted that holding military drills in the South China Sea is within the country's sovereignty and reasonable.
"Some countries outside the region often travel thousands of miles to the South China Sea to engage in large-scale military activities, and show off their power, which is the fundamental reason that affects the stability in the South China Sea," said Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of the ministry.
Read More: Beijing: South China Sea drills 'within sovereignty and reasonable'
(Cover: File photo of U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. /AP)