China urged to show restraint in South China Sea

SYDNEY: Australia and New Zealand strongly urged China to refrain from stoking tensions in the South China Sea after its apparent deployment of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island.

Tensions between China and its neighbours Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan over sovereignty in the South China Sea were raised after Taiwan and US officials said China deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to Woody Island, in the Paracel Island chain.