In their joint press conference, Obama declared that in “candid
discussions” he had “conveyed to President Xi [Jinping] our significant concerns
over land reclamation, construction and the militarisation of disputed
areas” and reiterated that the US “will continue to sail, fly and
operate anywhere that international law allows.” While acknowledging
that the US had no claims, Obama declared that “we just want to make
sure that the rules of the road are upheld.”
In reality, the Obama administration has deliberately raised the
political temperature in the longstanding territorial disputes in the
South China Sea by encouraging rival claimants, in particular the
Philippines and Vietnam, to adopt a more aggressive stance against
China. US objections to Chinese land reclamation do not extend to its
South East Asian neighbours with which Washington is seeking to
strengthen military ties.
-- Peter Symonds, "A tense visit by Chinese president to the White House" (WSWS).