A top United States military official has urged Australia to send warships to the South China Sea to test China's claims to disputed waters.
China, which has been exerting its influence in the region and is accused of building military bases on contested islands, says it is not the United States' business.
Twelve nautical miles.
That is how far a country's sovereign territory extends beyond the shore.
China has made increasingly assertive claims to islands in the South China Sea, one of the most hotly contested patches of water in the world.
Now, a top United States military official is urging Australia to join the US in sending warships on missions inside the 12 nautical mile radius of Chinese-controlled islands.
The missions' stated purpose is to help keep shipping lines open.
The commander of the US Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, is in Australia for talks with the country's military leaders.
Speaking in Sydney on the condition he not be filmed or recorded on tape, he told the ABC:
"What we're trying to ensure is that all countries, no matter size or strength, can pursue their interests based on the law of the sea and not have that endangered by some of these actions."
The admiral says Australia and other allies sending warships would be a valuable contribution.
"We're pretty much doing what we've done for decades and decades: ensuring that these sea lines of communication remain open. And so we've done it, but I really wish it wasn't portrayed as US versus China."
Chinese foreign-ministry official Hua Chunying has responded, saying the US should not be involved.
"The US is not involved in the South China Sea dispute, and this is not and should not become a problem between China and the United States. We have stated many times that maintaining the peace and stability of the South China Sea is consistent with the interests of the US and China."
The United States has already conducted two of the so-called "freedom of navigation" patrols since October last year.
Most recently, it sent a destroyer within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in January.
Australian air-force planes have previously conducted flyover exercises in the area, but the Turnbull Government has refrained from joining the US naval operations.
The call for an increased Australian navy presence comes just a week after the US and Taiwan reported China has built a surface-to-air missile system on Woody Island.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop raised the issue while in Beijing for diplomatic talks last week but received little clarity.
"I have raised the issue of the surface-to-air missile reports with the Chinese at the highest levels, and they have not conceded that the reports are correct, and so Australia will, of course, carry out our own means of verifying the status of this report on surface-to-air missiles. The issue of the South China Sea came up in each of the high-level discussions that I've had here in Beijing with the foreign minister Wang Yi, with state councillor Yong and with other officials, and we agree to disagree on a range of issues."
A quarter of global shipping traverses the South China Sea.
China claims most of the region, but Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan all have competing claims.
The sea is also believed to contain huge deposits of oil and gas.
Opposition defence spokesman Stephen Conroy has recently called for Australia to send navy ships to conduct "freedom of navigation" operations.
Mr Conroy was unavailable for comment on the latest exchanges, but last month said Australia's navigational rights needed to be protected.
"We can't be in a situation where countries try and change the facts on the ground and impose new rights that cut off Australia's international rights. We have rights, and every country has rights, under the international system. All we're asking for is that the Australian Government is open and transparent. If we're engaged in these activities, we should say so, and we should be prepared to, if necessary, defend the international system."
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