China calls on U.S. to 'stop flexing muscles' in South China Sea

FILE PHOTO: China's Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe reviews the honor guard before meeting with Brazil's Defence Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva (not pictured) in Brasilia, Brazil September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

BANGKOK (Reuters) - China on Monday called on the U.S. military to stop flexing its muscles in the South China Sea and to avoid adding "new uncertainties" over Taiwan, during high-level talks that underscored tension between the world's two largest economies.

The remarks by Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe to U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, recounted by a Chinese spokesman, came just two weeks after a top White House official denounced Chinese "intimidation" in the busy waterway.