(VOVworld) – On Tuesday, Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan and US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter met to discuss the East Sea.

China illegally built islands on Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago (Photo: Reuters)

The meeting took place on the sideline of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Plus in Malaysia and was the first meeting between the two Defense chiefs since the US deployed the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of China’s manmade land features in the East Sea.

Reuters news agency quoted a Pentagon official as saying that Minister Chang Wanquan said China’s acts in the East Sea mainly aim to support and bring maritime benefits to other countries but stressed that China needs to carry out some actions to enhance its ability to protect Chinese sovereignty. Secretary Carter said the US will  continue to operate in the East Sea and that the US will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows. The US defense officer said that despite differences related to territorial and maritime freedom in the East Sea, the US and Chinese defense chiefs agreed to continue their dialogue.