Philippines rebukes China for 'militarization' in South China Sea

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi listens to a delegate during the 14th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting at the 46th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan June 30, 2013. REUTERS/Ahim Rani

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Reuters) - The Philippines hit out at China on Sunday over the "increasing militarization" of the South China Sea as tensions between the neighbours flared amid slow-moving regional efforts to forge a compromise over one of Asia's naval flashpoints.

The rebuke by Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario at a regional summit in Brunei came a day after China's state media warned of an inevitable "counterstrike" against the Philippines if it continued to provoke Beijing.