U.S. patrol sought to avoid provocation, not reinforce China island claim - officials

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (R) speaks with U.S. Navy Cmdr. Robert C. Francis Jr., as Carter and Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (Not Pictured) visited the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, in this handout photograph taken and released on November 5, 2015. REUTERS/Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz/Department of Defense/Handout

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy deliberately avoided military drills or other actions that could have further inflamed tensions with Beijing during a patrol last week near islands China has built in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said.

"We wanted to assert our rights under international law, but not to the point where we were poking the Chinese in the eye, or where it would unnecessarily escalate the situation," said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.