Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on May 21, 2015. (Reuters)
The United States is not looking for conflict with China but steps it is taking in the South China Sea are self-isolating and prompting other countries to seek help from Washington, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Friday.
"I'm not one of those people who believes conflict between the United States and China is inevitable, it's certainly not desirable, I don't think it's likely," Carter said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"We don't seek to ask people to take sides. We do know that people are coming to us increasingly. Why is that? It is because China is taking some steps that I fear are self-isolating, driving towards a result that none of us wants," he said, in reference to Chinese measures in the South China Sea.
© Thomson Reuters 2016