BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday a British Royal Navy warship entered Chinese territorial waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea without permission on Aug. 31 and that China’s navy warned the British ship to leave.

“The Chinese side strongly urges the British side to immediately stop such kinds of provocative actions,” the ministry said in a faxed statement.

The HMS Albion, a 22,000-ton amphibious warship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, passed by the Paracel Islands in recent days, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.