{"id":26937,"date":"2019-11-18T16:53:49","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T16:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/11\/18\/china-stop-flexing-muscles-in-south-china-sea\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:09:07","slug":"china-stop-flexing-muscles-in-south-china-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/11\/18\/china-stop-flexing-muscles-in-south-china-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"China: \u2018Stop flexing muscles\u2019 in South China Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BANGKOK \u2014 China on Monday urged the U.S. military to \u201cstop flexing muscles\u201d in the disputed South China Sea, a point of persistent friction in a relationship both sides said was generally improving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Col. Wu Qian, told reporters in Bangkok that the South China Sea<\/a> was among numerous issues discussed earlier in the day when U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper <\/a>held his first face-to-face meeting with the Chinese defense minister, Gen. Wei Fenghe<\/a>. They met for more than half an hour on the margins of a broader Asia defense officials\u2019 conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe agreed to keep talking and engaging frequently,\u201d Esper told reporters afterward in a brief exchange. \u201cWe continue to make progress on any number of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South China Sea for years has been a major point of contention between Beijing and Washington. China claims the South China Sea as its sovereign territory, but those claims overlap with those of other Asian governments. The United States has no territorial stake but has periodically sailed Navy ships through areas of the sea that China considers off-limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\t