Washington: In a stern warning to China, the US has vowed to "protect its interests" in the dDand defend international territories from being taken over by "one country", evoking an angry response from Beijing which claimed "indisputable sovereignty" over the region.
"I think areas in the South China Sea that are part of international waters and international activities. I think the US is going to make sure that we protect our interests there," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his first news conference.
"So it's a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yes, we're gonna make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country," Spicer said.
He was responding to a question related to a recent statement made by Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson that US would deny China access to these islands as they are in international waters.
China in a strongly worded statement had warned US of a war if it is denied the access.
China has become more assertive over the South China Sea after an international tribunal struck down its claim over almost all of the area.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims over the South China Sea.
Reacting to Spicer's remarks, China today warned the US that it would not back down over its claims in the South China Sea.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing, adding that the country is "firm in safeguarding our rights and interests."
"The US is not a party to the South China Sea issue," she asserted.
Hua also said China "firmly upholds freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea in accordance with international law" and urged the US to "fully respect the efforts of regional countries to safeguard peace and stability".
On trade ties with the Communist giant, Spicer said that President Donald Trump understands that China is a big market for US goods and services.
"When he met the head of Alibaba a couple of weeks ago, that was part of the point. There's huge market issue there. But in many cases, it's not a two-way street," he said.
"I think that whether or not you're talking about the financial services or the banking, you know, the other service industries, or our manufacturing goods and services, or some of the IP problems that we have with China, that it really is not a two-way street," Spicer said.
"So he understands the market that China has and our desire to further penetrate that market. But he also recognises, there's a lot of concerns with how we are treated entering into China's market, and we need to review that," he said in response to a question.
