Obama puts South China Sea dispute on agenda as summitry begins

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks to reporters after touring the Philippine Navy's BRP Gregorio Del Pilar at Manila Harbor in Manila, Philippines, November 17, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama put tensions over Beijing's claims to the South China Sea squarely on the agenda ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit on Tuesday, pointedly visiting the main warship of close ally the Philippines shortly after he landed in Manila.

While Obama affirmed a commitment to the Philippines' security and to freedom of navigation in regional waters, a senior official in Beijing said China was the real victim of the waterway dispute because other countries had illegally occupied islands there.