SINGAPORE, May 31 (Reuters) - Acting U.S. Defense Secretary
Patrick Shanahan said on Friday that China's militarization of
the disputed South China Sea had been "excessive."
Shanahan, speaking with reporters in Singapore on the
sidelines of a defense forum, said China's actions in the South
China Sea, like installing surface to air missiles, was
"excessive" and "overkill."
China and the United States have repeatedly traded barbs in
the past over what Washington says is Beijing's militarization
of the South China Sea by building military installations on
artificial islands and reefs.