Benigno Aquino 3rd on Tuesday said he sees nothing wrong with Washington’s sending of a warship close to artificial islands China is building in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) but the move prompted Beijing to furiously denounce what it called a threat to its sovereignty.

The USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, passed within 12 nautical miles--the normal limit of territorial waters around natural land--of Zamora (Subi) Reef, which Beijing claims in the Kalayaan (Spratly) Island Group.