Two US officials have revealed that China flew a long-range nuclear bomber outside the country's border near the South China Sea.

The move comes after US President-elect Donald Trump had a phone conversation with his Taiwan counterpart Tsai Ing-wen.

According to the officials, the spectacular show of force was meant to send a strong message to the incoming US administration.

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This is the second time that the Chinese government has flown bombers in the region since Trump won the US presidential election.

The Pentagon has also expressed concern over satellite feeds showing that China is preparing to ship more advanced surface-to-air missiles to its contested islands in the South China Sea.

Trumps phone call with Tsai broke a decades-long diplomatic protocol. American leaders quit direct communications with Taiwanese Presidents in 1979 after diplomatic ties were cut off and the United States shifted to the "one-China" policy.

China reacted angrily to the phone conversation.

The Chinese H-6 bomber flew along the disputed "Nine-Dash line" on Thursday. The line surrounds the South China Sea and dozens of other disputed islands.

Besides China, many of the islands are also being claimed by other countries in the region.

The Pentagon received information about the Chinese flight on Friday. According to officials, it was the first long-range flight along the line since March 2015.

"At various points in the recent long-range flights, Chinese fighter jets provided escorts to the single Chinese bomber," the officials said.

The head of the US military's Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, has repeatedly voiced his concerns that China is "militarizing" the South China Sea.

In the past few years, the Chinese government has constructed approximately 3,000 acres of land atop reefs in the South China Sea.

The area now possesses three runways, and China has deployed bombers and fighter jets to some of them.

TagsSouth China Sea, china, donald trump