China 'extremely concerned' by ASEAN statement on disputed sea

At the southernmost feature, cargo is unloaded onto the shore of Mischief Reef, located 216 km (135 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan, in this Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative satellite image taken on March 16, 2015 and released to Reuters on April 9, 2015. REUTERS/CSIS's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative/Digital Globe/Handout

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was "extremely concerned" after leaders of Southeast Asian countries expressed worry about land reclamation and navigational freedom in the disputed South China Sea.

China's reclamation work in the South China Sea has become the latest source of tension with some of its smaller neighbours, several of whom have competing territorial claims in the waters.