U.S., Japan push for inclusion of South China Sea in defence forum statement

(L-R) Brunei's Minister of Energy Mohammad Yasmin Umar, Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister General Tea Banh, Indonesia's Minister of Defence General Ryamizard, Myanmar's Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sein Win, Laos' Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sengnouane Sayalat, Malaysia's Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Phillippines Secretary of Defence Voltaire T. Gazmin, Singapore's Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen, Thailand's Minister of Defence General Prawit Wongsuwan, Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Defence Admiral Nguyen Van Hien and Asean Secretary General Le Luong Minh pose for a photograph at the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 3, 2015. REUTERS/Goh Seng Chong

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The United States and Japan are pushing to get concerns about the South China Sea included in a statement to be issued after regional defence talks in Malaysia despite Chinese objections to any mention of the disputed waterway, officials said.

A senior U.S. defence official said Beijing had made clear as early as February that it didn't want the South China Sea discussed at the meeting between Southeast Asian defence ministers and their counterparts from across the Asia-Pacific in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.