The meeting was initiated by both Admiral John Richardson and Admiral Wu Shengli to discuss recent operations in the South China Sea and naval ties between the two countries, the official said.

It will be the third video teleconference held between a US naval operations chief and the Chinese equivalent.

The USS Lassen’s patrol on Tuesday was the most significant US challenge yet to 12-nautical-mile territorial limits China claims around artificial islands it has built in the Spratly archipelago.

Separately, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported that Admiral Harry Harris, commander of US forces in the Pacific, would visit Beijing next week. It cited an unnamed source and gave no further details.

A US embassy spokesperson declined to comment.

Harris has been highly critical of China’s island building in the Spratlys. Earlier this year he said China was using dredges and bulldozers to create a “great wall of sand” in the South China Sea.