BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) - China on Wednesday urged the United States not to hype up or deliberately confuse the South China Sea issue, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a daily news briefing.
Spokesperson Hong Lei made the remarks when responding to reports that U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Tuesday said in a speech in San Francisco that China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea, and he warned China against "aggressive" actions in the region.
China's deployment of limited and necessary national defense facilities in its own territory is far from new, Hong said, adding that China's exercise of self-preservation and defense is a right granted by international law to sovereign states.
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