Vietnam welcomed three U.S. warships to its waters Friday for scheduled port calls and joint training exercises.

The U.S. embassy said in a statement that the two sides will conduct seven days of training involving navigation and damage control along with dive and salvage training. No combat drills will be held.

Officials have said the port call was scheduled in advance, but it comes during heightened territorial tensions between China and Vietnam over resource-rich areas in the South China Sea.

China's military sharply criticized the U.S. on Monday for going ahead with the exercises.

China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan all claim territory in the South China Sea.