China Claims South China Sea Defenses 'Absolutely Necessary'

China's defenses in the South China Sea are "absolutely necessary", Beijing said Thursday, as it accused the U.S. of militarizing the region.

The defense ministry spoke out as tensions rose between the two powers over reports that Beijing has deployed surface-to-air missiles, fighter jets, and radar installations in the contested region.

"The U.S. is truly the one pushing militarization in the South China Sea," said ministry spokesman Wu Qian at a regular monthly briefing.

"China’s building of defense facilities on the South China Sea islands and reefs is absolutely necessary."

Beijing claims almost the whole of the South China Sea -- through which a third of the world's oil passes -- while several other littoral states have competing claims, as does Taiwan.

"It is China's legitimate right to deploy defense facilities within its own territory -- no matter whether that deployment was in the past or at the present, no matter whether for a temporary or long-term basis, and no matter what kind of equipment has been deployed."

A U.S. official told AFP that Beijing has deployed surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the disputed Paracels chain -- apparently HQ-9s, which have a range of about 200 kilometers (125 miles).

Citing two unnamed U.S. officials, American broadcaster Fox News said Tuesday that US intelligence services had spotted Chinese Shenyang J-11 and Xian JH-7 warplanes on the same island.

Reports also surfaced this week of probable radar installations on reefs in the nearby Spratly islands that would "exponentially improve" the country's monitoring capacities.

The United States has in recent months sent warships to sail within 12 nautical miles -- the usual territorial limit around natural land -- of a disputed island and reef transformed into an artificial island in what it says is a defense of the right to free passage.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Thursday concluded a visit to the U.S. for talks with U.S. secretary of state John Kerry, who told reporters last week: "There is every evidence, every day, that there has been an increase of militarization of one kind or another. It's of a serious concern."