The U.S. Navy has said it will not cease regular patrols in the South China Sea despite threats and aggressive acts from China in the international waters.

Adm. John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations, said at a press conference Monday that the U.S. will continue its operations against “illegitimate maritime claims,” the Associated Press reported.

“We will continue to progress this program of freedom of navigation operations,” Richardson said. “We do dozens of these operations around the world to indicate our position for … illegitimate claims, maritime claims.”

Richardson added that the U.S. and China “will meet each other more and more on the high seas,” according to Reuters on Tuesday.

… Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said Xi’s comments are “likely intended as a signal to the U.S. in particular and any parties that Beijing perceives to be causing provocation [in the disputed waters],” according to the South China Morning Post.