The decision of the Obama administration to patrol the USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of the Subi Reef on Tuesday achieved the sought after objective of putting a question mark on China's territorial claims and attracting the applause of other South China Sea claimants. But what effect will this contentious move have on the relationship between two of the most powerful nations in the world.

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Chinese officials have since expressed displeasure regarding the move, which has been described as "provocative."

"Relevant actions by the US naval vessel threatened China's sovereignty and security interests, put the personnel and facilities on the islands and reefs at risk and endangered regional peace and stability," China's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday as he voiced "strong dissatisfaction and opposition."  

On Wednesday, the foreign ministry announced that U.S. Ambassador Max Bacchus has been summoned to answer to questions about the incident.

Although Chinese officials have admitted that the U.S. warship was tracked and warned as it ventured close to the artificial island without permission, no other action was taken. While China has developed its naval power immensely over the past few decades, many experts still contend that the U.S. has the strongest naval force in the world.

On Tuesday, a US Defense official told the VOA that the recent patrol in the Spratly islands is "not going to be the last" of such moves by the American government.

Security experts generally agree that it is unlikely this incident will push both countries to full blown conflict because a lot of ambiguities exist in the situation.

First, under international laws, it is permitted for a warship to sail within 12 miles of foreign territory provided the vessel is not actively involved in a military mission. In September, a Chinese naval fleet sailed within 12 nautical miles of the coast of Alaska in the Bering Sea. The incident, which occurred while President Barack Obama was in the region, seems to have done more to spark curiosity than ire in U.S. authorities.

Secondly, since the Subi Reef was submerged undersea before China's commenced its land reclamation project in the Spratly islands in 2013, the legal status of the man-made island remains in question. Technically, since sand was dredged from the bottom of the sea to form the island, CNN points out that legally Subi is part of the Pacific seabed. The U.S. is seemingly challenging the legal status and sovereignty of the island in relation to surrounding territorial waters.

Recently, retired U.S. Navy Commander Bryan Clark explained that tension surrounds the decision to send a warship to the South China Sea because there has been a lot of delays and publicity for the freedom of navigation. "The U.S. cold have don't much better by simply doing the exercise without saying anything about it, and China would have responded probably at a much lower level," he told Breaking Defense. Clark thinks that now Chinese authorities would be compelled to react to "save face."

According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), future U.S. patrol to enforce freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is likely to focus on the Mischief Reef - which was also submerged like Subi prior to the start of China's land reclamation project. Like Subi Reef, China is building a 3,125 meters-long airstrip on Mischief.

"These operations [future U.S. patrols in the South China Sea] will be narrowly defined to achieve legal ends, and will happen with regularity but not so frequently as to be intentionally provocative," an article from the CSIS predicts. "For the same reason, it is unlikely that the United States will seek to perform joint FON [freedom of navigation] operations with other regional states, though it continues to urge Australia, Japan, and other regional partners to perform operations of their own to asset their right in the South China Sea."

TagsUSS Lassen South China Sea, Subi Reef US Warship, South China Sea Territorial Dispute, U.S.-China relations, Max Bacchus