The US will increase activities in the East Sea.

US officials say the country will increase freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea amid concerns that China is seeking to dominate the waters.

Fighter jets land on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier as another US ship passes by in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters

"We will continue to do that with increased complexity in the future and we will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows," Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, said during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.

"We must continue to operate in the South China Sea to demonstrate that these waters and the airspace above them are international," Reuters quoted him as adding.

Earlier this week, Mr. Harris accused China of “changing the operational landscape” in the South China Sea by deploying missiles and radars in an effort to militarily dominate East Asia.

During a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during her visit to Washington, US national security adviser Susan Rice also stressed US support for freedom of navigation and urged Beijing to address regional concerns.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wang expressed that Beijing hopes to see no more surveillance activities or deployment of missile destroyers and strategic bombers by the US.

When asked what the US would do to counter militarization in the South China Sea, Mr. Harris said the US could deploy more naval assets, although there would be many financial, diplomatic and political difficulties if it wanted to send a second aircraft carrier to the region.

"We could put another attack submarine there, we could put more destroyers there... There are a lot of things we could do, short of putting a full carrier strike group in the western Pacific," he said.

Mr. Harris' statement came a day after he accused China of deploying missiles and radars on Vietnam's Paracel and Spratly Islands, which Beijing illegally occupies.

However, China argues that it needs to defend against US military activities in the East Sea and criticizes the US media for exaggerating the truth.

According to VNE