US to keep operating in South China Sea: Ashton Carter

US defence secretary Ashton Carter on Tuesday told his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan that the American military would continue to operate in the South China Sea.

With tensions still simmering after a US naval vessel sailed close to artificial islands China is building in the disputed waters, the pair met for about 40 minutes on the sidelines of a regional defence meeting.

“(Carter) once again reaffirmed that the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” a senior US defence official said after the two defence chiefs met in Kuala Lumpur.

“And he clearly made the case that the South China Sea would not be an exception.”

Mr Carter’s comments came hours after his top US admiral in the Pacific region, Harry Harris, gave a speech in Beijing in which he told China that the US military would continue to sail “wherever” international law allows.

Mr Carter also discussed Washington’s concerns over alleged Chinese cyber-attacks.

In a meeting that was “business-like and cordial”, Mr Chang reiterated Beijing’s position that the islets are sovereign Chinese territory and its displeasure with the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen’s presence.

The ship last week sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the land formations China claims in the disputed Spratly Islands.

“They made it clear that they don’t like these measures,” a second defence official said. “But there was none of the fiery rhetoric that you may have seen in media from other officials.”

The officials said China described a “bottom line”, below which it would defend the islands.

But Mr Carter and the US delegation saw this as open to interpretation and not an ultimatum that would deter future US sailings in the contested region.

The United States and Japan are pushing to get concerns about the South China Sea included in a statement to be issued after regional defence talks in Malaysia despite Chinese objections to any mention of the disputed waterway, officials said.

A senior US defence official said Beijing had made clear as early as February that it didn’t want the South China Sea discussed at the meeting between Southeast Asian defence ministers and their counterparts from across the Asia-Pacific in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

“We’ve been very clear along with many other like minded countries that South China Sea language should be included,” said the official.