China is using its fishing fleets with armed escorts to bolster maritime claims in disputed territory, a senior US State Department official warned Wednesday, calling China's behaviour "disturbing".
The comments came after Indonesian warships fired warning shots and detained a Chinese-flagged fishing boat and seven crew near the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea last week, in actions slammed by Beijing.
"I think it's a disturbing trend to see Chinese fishing vessels accompanied by coast guard vessels, used in a way that appears to be an attempt to exert a claim that may not be legitimate," said the US official via conference call to journalists in Southeast Asia.
"I do think that it does point to an expanding presence of Chinese -- sort of military and paramilitary forces -- and used in a way that is provocative and potentially destabilising," the US official, who asked not to be named, added.
Unlike several other countries in the region, Indonesia has no overlapping claims with China to islets or reefs in the sea, but Beijing's claim to fishing rights near the Natunas appears to overlap with Jakarta's exclusive economic zone.
Last week's incident was only the latest in a series of skirmishes between the two countries since Jakarta launched a crackdown on illegal fishing in 2014.
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