China signals it will not back down over South China Sea deployments as foreign minister heads to US

China’s South China Sea military deployments are no different from deployments by the United States on Hawaii, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, striking a combative tone before a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the US this week.

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Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the minister was also expected to discuss North Korea, and she repeated China’s opposition to the possible US deployment of an advanced US missile defence system following Pyongyang’s recent rocket launch.

Last week the US accused China of raising tensions in the South China Sea by its apparent deployment of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island, a move China has neither confirmed nor denied.

Asked whether the South China Sea, and the missiles, would come up when Wang was in the US to meet Secretary of State John Kerry, Hua said Washington should not use the issue of military facilities on the islands as a “pretext to make a fuss”.

“The US is not involved in the South China Sea dispute, and this is not and should not become a problem between China and the United States,” Hua told a daily news briefing.

China hoped the US abided by its promises not to take sides in the dispute and stop “hyping up” the issue and tensions, especially over China’s “limited” military positions there, she said.

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“China’s deploying necessary, limited defensive facilities on its own territory is not substantively different from the United States defending Hawaii,” Hua added.