An American warship has sailed through waters off the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in the latest implicit challenge to Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the region, the Pentagon said on Sunday, Agence-France Presse reports. The alleged territorial breach followed flights by U.S. bomber over the contested South China Sea. Analysts said the bombers could boost the security of Southeast Asian countries that claim the waterway as Washington’s planes help check any maritime expansion by China, VOA News reports. Washington and Beijing both act as though they know what the other wants in the South China Sea, but may be falling victim to worst-case thinking that risks further conflict, writes Mark J. Valencia for South China Morning Post.