US urges China to end land reclamation

China has sparked alarm across southeast Asia by expanding tiny reefs and constructing military posts to reinforce its claims over some of the world's busiest commercial sea lanes.

The United States and southeast Asian countries have called for Beijing to halt such activities, which have dominated discussions at the regional security forum, but China has refused.

Speaking Wednesday at a Southeast Asian regional security forum in Kuala Lumpur, US Secretary of State John Kerry told foreign ministers from the group of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that the United States shares their desire for negotiated settlements to contested claims over territory in the South China Sea.

“We want to ensure the security of critical sea lanes and fishing grounds, and we want to see that disputes in the area are managed peacefully and on the basis of international law," Kerry said.

China should 'create space for diplomacy'

A senior US official said Kerry had earlier made a blunt case for easing tensions in a closed-door meeting earlier on Wednesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Kerry had reiterated US concerns about the rising tensions and "China's large scale reclamation, construction, and militarization of features," and had "encouraged" China, and the other nations, "to halt problematic actions in order to create space for diplomacy," according to the official.

Kerry told ASEAN ministers that his meeting with Wang had been "good" and said he hoped that over the course of the two-day forum "we will find a way to move forward effectively, together, all of us."

However, Wang said Tuesday that all of Beijing's activities are in Chinese territory and there should be no double standards on the issue, a reference to land reclamation work by other claimants.

China has insisted it will not discuss the issue during formal meetings at the forum, saying disagreements must be handled on a bilateral basis between rival claimants.

Fears over sea dispute spiraling out of control

China, Taiwan and several ASEAN members - the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei - have wrangled over the ownership and control of the South China Sea in a conflict that has flared on and off for decades.

China has claimed most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.

Tensions rose last year when China irritated its southeast Asian neighbors by starting to build artificial land in the Spratly Islands, which the US and Beijing's rival claimant countries fear could impede freedom of navigation in a major transit area for the world's oil and merchandise.

The disputes have led to deadly confrontations between China and Vietnam, and Washington as well as other governments in the region have expressed concern that greater military deployments could increase the risk of miscalculations and accidental clashes that could spiral out of control.

mh/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)