sydney unite state ready confront china continue overreach maritime claim south china sea head u.s. pacific fleet say wednesday comment threaten escalate tensions two global rival china claim resource-rich south china sea trillion ship-borne trade pass every year neighbor brunei malaysia philippines taiwan vietnam also claim unite state call china respect find arbitration court hague early year invalidate vast territorial claim strategic waterway beijing continue act aggressive manner unite state stand ready respond admiral harry harris head u.s. pacific command say speech sydney allow share domain close unilaterally matter many base build artificial feature south china sea say cooperate ready confront must comment threaten stoke tensions unite state china already heighten president-elect donald trump decision accept telephone call taiwan president dec. prompt diplomatic protest beijing ask harris remark chinese foreign ministry spokesman geng shuang say situation south china sea currently stable thank hard work china others region hope unite state abide promise take side sovereignty dispute south china sea respect efforts countries region maintain peace stability south china sea region promote peace stability tell daily news brief unite state estimate beijing add 3,200 acres 1,300 hectares land seven feature south china sea past three years build runways port aircraft hangars communications equipment response unite state conduct series freedom-of-navigation operations south china sea late come october patrol anger beijing senior chinese official july warn practice may end disaster harris say decision australian government whether u.s. ally undertake freedom-of-navigation operations say unite state would continue practice u.s. fight first war follow independence ensure freedom navigation say harris endure principle one reason force stand ready fight tonight u.s. ready confront beijing south china sea admiral