Australia foreign minister criticises Beijing over South China Sea conduct

Australia's foreign minister criticised Beijing's conduct in the South China Sea, calling it "destabilising and dangerous". The statement adds another criticism of China over the waterway after an earlier report said the United States had condemned what it called dangerous Chinese actions.

South China Sea tensions had been expected to overshadow a meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Manila after a new clash in the waterway. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had arrived in the Philippines shortly before the meeting. The source item gave no further details about the Australian foreign minister's remarks.