B-1B Lancer (File Photo)

China opposes the use of freedom of navigation and overflight as an excuse to show off military muscle, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Friday, after two US bombers flew over the South China Sea.

"China resolutely opposes individual countries using the banner of freedom of navigation and overflight to flaunt military force and harm China's sovereignty and security," Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing.

Before returning to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the two US B-1Bs Lancers proceeded to the South China Sea after a joint drill with two Japanese jet fighters on Thursday night over the neighboring East China Sea.

A US Air Force statement claimed the two bombers flew over the South China Sea to "exercise the rights of freedom of navigation" which was in line with the "long-standing and well-known US freedom of navigation policies."

Two US Air Force bombers also flew over the South China Sea from Guam last month. Last week, a US warship sailed in China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands in what the Foreign Ministry described as a "serious political and military provocation."