--- description: Following reports that a Chinese air defense system was deployed on a South China Sea island title: U.S. Expects 'Very Serious' Talks With China Over Missiles image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fa39b8900520b58/69887e16cd1bba6f186ff7b1/gettyimages-451361418.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [diplomacy](/tag/diplomacy/) ## diplomacy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Plans to Have 'Very Serious' Talks Over China's Missile Deployment by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2016 5:43 AM CUT  U.S. Navy personnel aboard the U.S.S. John S. McCain raise their country's flag during a bilateral maritime exercise with the Philippine navy in the South China Sea near waters claimed by Beijing on June 28, 2014 U.S. Navy personnel aboard the U.S.S. John S. McCain raise their country's flag during a bilateral maritime exercise with the Philippine navy in the South China Sea near waters claimed by Beijing on June 28, 2014Noel Celis—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2016 5:43 AM CUT The U.S. anticipates a “very serious conversation” with China in the near future following reports of the Asian power’s apparently increasing military presence in the South China Sea, Secretary of State John Kerry [said](http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/02/252573.htm "undefined") Wednesday. “When President Xi was here in Washington, he stood in the Rose Garden with President Obama and said China will not militarize in the South China Sea,” Kerry told reporters during a press interaction. “But there is every evidence every day that there has been an increase of militarization of one kind or another.” Kerry was responding to earlier [reports](http://time.com/4226945/south-china-sea-island-missiles-woody-vietnam-taiwan/ "undefined") that batteries of surface-to-air missile launchers were observed on one of the islands China controls in the region. Satellite images indicate the apparent missile buildup took place within the past two weeks at Woody Island — part of the contested Paracel chain — which is also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. China has repeatedly defended its claim to the majority of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi [reiterating](http://news.yahoo.com/china-sends-missiles-contested-south-china-sea-island-030229562.html# "undefined") on Wednesday that the country’s “limited and necessary self-defense facilities” on the region’s islands are justified by “the right to self-protection that China is entitled to under international law.” The Chinese Defense Ministry further dismissed reports of the missile deployment as “hype,” [according](http://news.yahoo.com/china-sends-missiles-contested-south-china-sea-island-030229562.html# "undefined") to Reuters. The U.S. has joined Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei — many of whom President Obama hosted at a [summit](http://time.com/4225107/obama-southeast-asian-leaders-talks/ "undefined") this week — in condemning China’s military posturing in the purportedly international waters that serve as a major trade route. White House press secretary Josh Earnest [said](https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2016/02/17/press-briefing "undefined") Wednesday that the U.S. would continue to “fly, sail and operate anywhere that international law allows,” justifying its frequent naval presence in the region that the Chinese government has [deemed](http://time.com/4201913/china-us-south-china-sea-navy-dispute/ "undefined") a provocation in the past. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4228622/south-china-sea-missiles-kerry-u-s/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4228622/south-china-sea-missiles-kerry-u-s/"},"headline":"U.S. Plans to Have 'Very Serious' Talks Over China's Missile Deployment","datePublished":"2016-02-18T05:43:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:10:47.985Z","description":"Secretary of State John Kerry says there is daily evidence of militarization by China","url":"https://time.com/4228622/south-china-sea-missiles-kerry-u-s/","keywords":["diplomacy","China","U.S.","conversation","South China Sea","Missiles"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fa39b8900520b58/69887e16cd1bba6f186ff7b1/gettyimages-451361418.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fa39b8900520b58/69887e16cd1bba6f186ff7b1/gettyimages-451361418.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PHILIPPINES-US-CHINA-MARITIME-DIPLOMACY","caption":"PHILIPPINES-US-CHINA-MARITIME-DIPLOMACY","creditText":"Noel Celis—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/diplomacy/","name":"diplomacy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4228622/south-china-sea-missiles-kerry-u-s/","name":"U.S. Plans to Have 'Very Serious' Talks Over China's Missile Deployment"}}]}] ```