The Pentagon disinvited China from participating in a major naval exercise on Wednesday, signaling mounting US anger over Beijing’s expanded military footprint in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan, said the Defense Department reversed an earlier invitation to the Chinese navy to participate in the Rim of the Pacific drills, biennial naval exercises that involve more than two dozen nations, over Beijing’s decision to place anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and electronic jammers on the contested Spratly Islands.

China has also landed bomber aircraft at Woody Island, farther to the north in the disputed Paracel Islands, the Pentagon said.

The Trump administration has challenged Chinese claims of sovereignty over virtually all the South China Sea.

washington post