"Islands in the South China Sea since ancient times are Chinese territory," Xi said. "We have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty and lawful legitimate maritime rights and interests."
US President Barack Obama expressed concerns about Chinese militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea to China's President Xi Jinping on Friday, but Xi denied any plan to establish military strongholds there.
Obama
said their summit talks included a "candid" discussion on Asia-Pacific
disputes, focusing on growing tensions in the South China Sea where
China has competing territorial claims with several Southeast Asian
countries.
"I conveyed to President Xi our
significant concerns over land reclamation, construction and the
militarization of disputed areas, which makes it harder for countries in
the region to resolve disagreements peacefully," Obama said.
He spoke with Xi at his side during a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden. The Chinese leader is on his first state visit to the United States.
China
has said repeatedly that the artificial islands it has built up on
disputed reefs would be used for military defense and analysts say
satellite pictures show it has completed one military length runway and
appears to be working on two more.
Admiral Harry
Harris, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told the Aspen Security
Forum in July that China was building hangers on one of the reefs -
Fiery Cross - that appeared to be for tactical fighter aircraft.
Xi, however, denied that militarization was taking place.
"Relevant
construction activity that China is undertaking in the Nansha Islands
does not target or impact any country and there is no intention to
militarize," Xi said, using the Chinese name for the disputed Spratly archipelago.
"Islands in the South China Sea since ancient times are Chinese territory," Xi said. "We have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty and lawful legitimate maritime rights and interests."
Xi
also reiterated that China is committed to freedom of navigation in the
sea and to resolving disputes through dialogue. He said Beijing and
Washington had a shared interest in this regard.
Washington
analysts and U.S. officials say the militarization of the islands has
already begun and the only question is how much military hardware China
will install.
U.S. experts say satellite photos
from early this month also show China was carrying out dredging work
around the artificial islands, a month after saying it had stopped.
Harris
said last week that China's runway building and further militarization
of the artificial islands was of "great concern" and posed a threat to
all countries in the region.
Jane's Defense Weekly
published new satellite images of Fiery Cross taken on Sept. 20 that it
said showed China had completed the runway on the reef and was moving
closer to making it operational.
Jane's said
completion of the runway could allow China to accelerate construction of
infrastructure and to start air patrols over the disputed islands.
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