China and the US clashed over the South China Sea at a defence forum this weekend, with a Chinese admiral warning Washington that “we have no fear of trouble”.

Tensions surrounding these contested waters have been rising amid island-building by Beijing, increased naval and air patrols by the US and the expectation that an international court will soon rule on an arbitration case brought by the Philippines against China’s expansive maritime claims.

China has been trying to find other nations such as Russia that are willing to support its rejection of the legitimacy of the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague. Meanwhile, the US, the EU and Japan have said they support the right of the Philippines to bring the case under the provisions of the UN law of the sea, which the US itself has not ratified.