The Trump administration vows to stop China from seizing any more territory in international waters in the South China Sea in its harshest warning to China yet.

"I think the U.S. is going to make sure that we protect our interests there," said White House spokesman Sean Spicer in Washington, D.C.

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"It's a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yeah, we're going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country," said Spicer.

He was referring to China's unlawfully claimed and militarized man-made and natural islands in the South China Sea. China's claim to own the South China Sea was declared illegal on July 12, 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

China refused to abide by the court's decision to withdraw from the islands it illegally seized from the Philippines and instead will emplace more anti-aircraft defenses on those islands this year.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson indicated he's in favor of using military force to evict China from the man-made islands it's built in the disputed South China Sea.

A former CEO of American oil giant ExxonMobil, Tillerson made these remarks during his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Jan. 11. His statements are the first time a U.S. administration has indicated its readiness to use military force to stop China's relentless "sea grab" in the South China Sea.

"We're going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the island-building stops, and second, your access to those islands also not going to be allowed," he said.

The statement implies the use of military force to enforce it.

Tillerson also saw China's activity in the South China Sea as "extremely worrisome."

He compared China's territorial claims over the South China Sea to Russia's military annexation of the Crimea, which belong to Ukraine, in March 2014.

"Building islands and then putting military assets on those islands is akin to Russia's taking of Crimea. It's taking of territory that others lay claim to," Tillerson pointed out.

Tillerson noted the Obama administration neglected to tackle the problem. He said the "failure of a response has allowed them (China) to just keep pushing the envelope on this."

Tillerson's testimony, plus Trump's known hostility towards China, apparently makes it clear the Trump administration will do more than talk tough to China.

Tillerson also took a dig at Obama's proclivity for inaction and penchant for being outmaneuvered by the Russians.

"I think a lot of our troubles today are that we do not enforce -- we make commitments, we say we are going to do something and then we don't enforce it," said Tillerson.

China's first response to Tillerson's tougher rhetoric was surprisingly muted. It again repeated the worn line the U.S. should stay out of the dispute in the South China Sea and leave it all to China. 

TagsTrump administration, South China Sea, Sean Spicer, Permanent Court of Arbitration, rex tillerson