U.S. President Barack Obama has accused China of using its "sheer size and muscle" to bully and intimidate other countries in the South China Sea.

China has reclaimed some seven reefs in the South China Sea, which has concerned its neighbors, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, reports Reuters. Chinese workers are building ports and fuel storage depots, and potentially two airstrips, which experts have said would allow Beijing to project power deep into Southeast Asia.

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"Where we get concerned with China is where it is not necessarily abiding by international norms and rules and is using its sheer size and muscle to force countries into subordinate positions," Obama told a town-hall event in Jamaica, during his visit for a Caribbean summit in Panama.

"We think this can be solved diplomatically, but just because the Philippines or Vietnam are not as large as China doesn't mean that they can just be elbowed aside," he said.

However, Beijing lashed out at the U.S. for Obama's remarks, as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the U.S. had no right to accuse anyone of pushing others around.

"I think everyone can see very clearly who it is in the world who is using the greatest size and muscle," she told a press conference in Beijing on Friday.

Hua added that the U.S. needed to do more to show that it wants to have a constructive, positive role in the South China Sea, and should not ignore the efforts China and Southeast Asian nations have made to try and address the dispute.

Reuters reports that China claims most of the energy rich South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade pass every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims for the same territories as China.

China says it is willing to discuss the issue with individual countries directly involved in the dispute, and that the U.S. should not take sides. However, Reuters reports that China has refused to participate in an international arbitration case filed by the Philippines in The Hague over the contested area.

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