Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday called China’s military deployments on the South China Sea “counterproductive”, an unusually forceful rebuke against the country’s biggest trading partner.

Australia has consistently supported U.S.-led freedom of navigation activities in the South China Sea, where Beijing has been adding reclamation to islands and reefs in waters claimed by several regional countries.

The United States has accused China of raising tensions in the South China Sea by its apparent deployment of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island, a move China has neither confirmed nor denied.

“They are … counterproductive, regardless of the legal merits, on which we do not express a view nor make a claim,” Turnbull said in a speech in Sydney, referring to China’s military deployments.

Turnbull is expected to visit China next month.

The Chinese government last month expressed its displeasure with Australia’s new defence spending plan.

China has repeatedly accused the United States of militarising the South China Sea with its freedom of navigation patrols in the region, and boosting of military alliances with countries like the Philippines.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southchinasea-china-australia-idUKKCN0WP0VO