Story highlights The operation was part of a longstanding effort to challenge Beijing's "excessive maritime claims," US officials said

The Paracel Islands have been controlled by China since 1974 but they are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan

Washington (CNN) A US Navy destroyer conducted a "freedom of navigation" operation near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Tuesday, two defense officials told CNN.

The USS Chafee, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, did not come within 12 miles of any individual islands -- a distance China considers territorial waters -- but did enter the "straight baseline" that Beijing claims around the island group, according to the officials.

The USS Chafee does a Pass-in-review of the Arizona Memorial on the 69th anniversary of the attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu on December 7, 2010.

The operation was part of a longstanding effort to challenge Beijing's "excessive maritime claims," the officials said, adding that the US does not recognize China's claim of sovereignty in that location and regards the area as international waters.

The Paracel Islands have been controlled by China since 1974 but they are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. Tensions flared in 2014 when China installed exploratory oil rigs in the vicinity.

Dotted with small islands, reefs and shoals, the South China Sea is home to a string of messy territorial disputes that pit multiple countries against each other.

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