China calls in U.S. diplomat over South China Sea

Robert S. Wang (C), deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, carries a gift bag as he arrives at the Chaoyang Hospital, where blind activist Chen Guangcheng was reported to be staying at, in Beijing May 4, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry has called in a senior U.S. diplomat to protest remarks by the U.S. State Department raising concerns over tensions in the disputed South China Sea, in the latest political spat between the two countries.

In a statement released late on Saturday, China's Foreign Ministry said Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Kunsheng summoned the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Wang to make "serious representations" about the issue.