A Chinese warship warned the USS Decatur that it would suffer the consequences during a near-boarding in the South China Sea.

A Chinese destroyer who approached within 45 meters of a US Navy vessel during a September mission to the South China Sea would have warned the US ship that it would "suffer consequences" if it did not reorient itself.

The Luoyang destroyer of the People's Republic of China conveyed the message to the USS Decatur during his confrontation on Sept. 30 near Gaven Reefs, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday, citing the transcript of the incident by the British Ministry of Defense.

"Are you sure [sic] dangerous course, "warned the Chinese warship." If you do not change course, your [sic] will suffer consequences. "

The USS Decatur replied, "We are proceeding to an innocent passage."

An amazing video of the incident shows how much the Chinese destroyer has come close to the USS Decatur. An official of the American ship could be heard saying that the Chinese ship "was trying to get us out of the way," according to the South China Morning Post.

The destroyer conducted an "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver," said the spokesman for the US fleet, the Cmdr. Tim Gorman spoke about the October incident. He added that the Chinese ship had carried out a series of increasingly aggressive maneuvers accompanied by warnings calling for the departure of Decatur.

The USS Decatur, a guided missile destroyer, was conducting a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea, Fox News told a US defense official in a statement. The operation was conducted with the aim of "upholding the rights and freedoms of all States under international law. Decatur sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands, "said the official.

This US Navy photo, first obtained by gcaptain.com, shows the incident between USS Decatur (left) and Luoyang.
(US Navy)

China claims rights over most of the strategic waterway and built artificial islands on reefs and equipped them with airstrips, radar domes and missile systems.

China has opposed the entry of the US warship into the waters surrounding the reefs, said Tuesday the Chinese Ministry of Defense. Chinese authorities have confirmed that they sent Luoyang to chase the USS Decatur and urged the United States to put an end to its "provocative" actions.