UPDATE 2-U.S. envoy decries Chinese "intimidation" in South China Sea

* U.S. envoy compares Chinese actions to conquest
* China says countries from outside region should not meddle
* Envoy delivers invitation from Trump to regional leaders

(Adds comments from U.S. envoy, Chinese official responds)
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Liz Lee
BANGKOK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. envoy denounced Chinese
"intimidation" in the South China Sea at a summit of Southeast
Asian leaders on Monday and said they should not be bullied into
giving up their resources by what he compared to a conquest.
The raised rhetoric from White House National Security
Adviser Robert O'Brien at the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Bangkok drew a rebuke from China,
which lays claim to most of the busy waterway.
"Beijing has used intimidation to try to stop ASEAN nations
from exploiting the off-shore resources, blocking access to 2.5
trillion dollars of oil and gas reserves alone," O'Brien told
the ASEAN-U.S. summit in a speech.
Disputes should be handled peacefully, he said later.
"We don't think they should be handled by intimidation or
through maritime militias or by random ships or by surrounding
islands ... That's just not how things should be done in the
21st Century. That's conquest."
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng, also in Bangkok
for the meetings, said it was unacceptable for countries from
outside the region to come "to make waves, escalate disputes and
create tensions".
He emphasised progress on the code of conduct for the South
China Sea which China is discussing with ASEAN countries.
O'Brien delivered an invitation from Trump to the ASEAN
leaders to a special summit at some point in the first quarter
of 2020.
At this year's summit, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
was the highest-ranking delegation official, prompting the
10-member ASEAN to downgrade its participation at the meeting to
only leaders from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.
China was represented at meetings in Bangkok by its premier,
Le Keqiang.
Despite the South China Sea accusations, O'Brien said
Washington sought a "great relationship" with China and that the
two sides were close to a "phase one" agreement to begin to roll
back a 16-month trade war.

(Writing by Kay Johnson and Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Alison
Williams)