A Chinese military spokesperson on Friday slammed a U.S. military vessel's recent "provocative moves," stating that the U.S. side's invocation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) reveals its hegemonic nature.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing, in response to a media query about the U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey sailing through the Taiwan Straits and trespassing into China's territorial waters.