China and the US clashed over the South China Sea at an annual meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders at the weekend, blaming each other for “militarising” the region as tensions over longstanding maritime disputes continue to simmer.

Speaking before a meeting with leaders of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur, Barack Obama, the US president, called on rival claimants to “halt reclamation, new construction and militarisation of disputed areas” in the South China Sea for the sake of regional stability.

Beijing hit back, insisting that its actions were “beyond reproach,” that it was only building military installations on South China Sea islands to protect its civilian facilities and that a recent US naval mission was a “political provocation” designed to “test China’s response”.