China on Monday urged the United States to restrain from engaging in disputes over the South China Sea as senior military officers from the two countries meet to improve ties.
"It's not a proper time for the United States to conduct military drills in the region with the Philippines and Vietnam," said Chen Bingde, Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), after holding talks with his visiting U.S. counterpart Mike Mullen.
The oil-and gas-rich South China Sea is partially claimed by several southeast Asian states, including the Philippines and Vietnam. However, history shows that China has indisputable sovereignty over the sea's islands and their surrounding waters.
The U.S. side has repeated that it does not intend to engage in the disputes in the area, "but it's behavior has given some opposite signals," Chen said at a joint press conference after talks with Mullen.
"We discussed four major topics, including the South China Sea, the attitude of some U.S. politicians toward China, cyber security and China's military development," Chen said.
Both sides exchanged views on those issues in a candid manner, he added.
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