A U.S. aircraft carrier was 'shadowed' by a Chinese spy ship as it carried out a military drill near disputed islands in the Pacific, the vessel's commander said.

The John C. Stennis joined warships from Japan and India close to Kyushu Island when the U.S. military claimed a ship from Beijing began following it.

China has previously been angered by what it views as provocative U.S. military patrols close to the islands, which they believe belong to them.

The captain of the U.S. aircraft carrier the John C. Stennis, pictured, says his ship was 'shadowed' by a Chinese spy vessel

And the captain of the Stennis, Gregory C. Huffman said the Chinese ship began shadowing them as they recovered F-18 fighter jets who had been taking part in an exercise.

He said: 'There is a Chinese vessel about seven to 10 miles away.'

The Chinese ship had followed the U.S. vessel from the South China Sea, he added.

However, separately, an unidentified U.S. official played down the significance of the shadowing, saying the Stennis had been followed by Chinese vessels in the past and the action in itself was not provocative.

'We are getting used to operating in close proximity of Chinese vessels,' the official said.

Meanwhile the Japanese government said a separate Chinese navy observation ship entered its territorial waters south of its southern Kyushu island.

The John C. Stennis, pictured, joined warships from Japan and India close to Kyushu Island when the U.S. military claimed a ship from Beijing began following it

But China said it was acting within the law and following the principle of freedom of navigation.

The Stennis had joined nine other naval ships including a Japanese helicopter carrier and Indian frigates in seas off the Okinawan island chain.

Sub-hunting patrol planes launched from bases in Japan are also participating in the joint annual exercise, dubbed Malabar.

The Stennis will sail apart from the other ships, acting as a decoy to draw it away from the eight-day naval exercise, a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force officer said.

The show of U.S. naval power comes as Japan and the United States worry China is extending its influence into the western Pacific with submarines and surface vessels as it pushes territorial claims in the neighboring South China Sea, expanding and building on islands.

China views access to the Pacific as vital as a supply line to the rest of the world's oceans and for the projection of its naval power.

Blocking China's unfettered access to the Western Pacific are the 200 islands stretching from Japan's main islands through the East China Sea to within 60 miles of Taiwan.