Washington is "encouraging the peaceful resolution of competing maritime claims in the South China Sea – a goal that is definitely not helped by the militarization of facilities in that region," US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

The comments were made ahead of a meeting on North Korea’s missile tests between Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi in Washington.

The commander of US forces in the Pacific also made similar accusations against the Asian country, which claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.

“I believe China seeks hegemony in East Asia," Admiral Harry Harris, Jr. said, adding that Beijing is "changing the operational landscape" in the disputed region by deploying missiles and radars.

According to US media reports, China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the disputed Paracel Islands chain.

Citing two unnamed US officials, Fox News further said on Tuesday that Chinese Shenyang J-11 and Xian JH-7 warplanes had recently been spotted on the island.

Beijing accuses Washington of creating a "pretext to make a fuss” over the South China Sea disputes, noting that its military deployments are no different than US deployments on Hawaii.

The disputed islands are in part claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei; Press TV reported.

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