Beijing: China's military has warned freedom of navigation patrols by the United States in the South China Sea will cause it to boost Chinese defence capacity in the disputed waters.

China issued the rebuke on Friday after the USS John S McCain a day earlier conducted the US Navy's third freedom of navigation patrol since the Trump administration took office.

Mabini (Johnson) Reef part of the disputed islands China has built up in the South China Sea. Credit:New York Times

The Chinese military "immediately sent out warships" with two missile frigates identifying the US naval destroyer and warning it away from Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, which China calls the Nansha Islands, according to China's foreign ministry.

China's Defence Ministry said it expressed its strong opposition to the United States for the "show of force".