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The US has called for an "immediate and lasting halt" to land reclamation in disputed areas of the South China Sea, the BBC reports.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that China's actions in the area were "out of step" with international rules.

China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims with its neighbours.

Chinese officials have described US remarks on the South China Sea as "groundless and not constructive."

At the conference on Saturday, which was attended by defence ministers from across the Asia-Pacific region, Mr Carter said he wanted the "peaceful resolution of all disputes.”

"To that end, there should be an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by all claimants," he said.

He acknowledged that other claimants - such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan, had reclaimed pockets of land or built outposts in the area, but said "one country has gone much farther and much faster than any other.”

"China has reclaimed over 2,000 acres, more than all other claimants combined and more than in the entire history of the region. And China did so in only the last 18 months," he said.

"It is unclear how much farther China will go. That is why this stretch of water has become the source of tension in the region and front-page news around the world."