After Washington accused Chinese military ships and aircraft of making "unsafe maneuvers" and coming dangerously close to US forces in the South China Sea, a top US official said on Monday that the two forces have reduced the risk of military encounters in the region through confidence-building measures.

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US national security adviser Susan Rice, during a visit to Beijing, said confrontations between US and Chinese forces in the disputed maritime territory have lessened due to confidence-building measures such as increased communication between military leaders in the region.

"Our military leaders communicate more frequently and more directly than ever before in the past," Rice said at a meeting with Fan Changlong, the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission.

'Unintended consequences'

Although China has reiterated that it would not accept third-party interference in the South China Sea dispute, the Chinese military has cooperated with US forces to lessen the "risk of unintended consequences."

"While our forces operate in closer proximity to each other, the risk of unintended consequences has gone down thanks to the confidence-building measures that our two sides have put in place," Rice said.

The US had complained in the past months about Chinese ships and aircraft conducting dangerous maneuvers such as shadowing US aircraft carrier and coming in close contact with military forces in the South China Sea region.

China defended its actions saying they were merely conducting routine operations within the scope of the law.

Military relations

Fan said there is a need to improve military relations between the two sides "to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculations" in the region.

He added that China will not cave in to any pressure by any state and will uphold its sovereignty to its territory in the South China Sea.

US forces have been conducting freedom of navigation patrols near Chinese-held territories in the disputed sea angering China, while the latter continues to build artificial islands on the strategic waterway.

International law

The two nations have been at odds over China's massive claims in the region with the US invoking the freedom of navigation principle in conducting naval and aerial patrols in the strategic waterway where $5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes through each year.

Washington earlier said that US forces would continue to sail and fly anywhere in the world, including the South China Sea, for as long as international laws allow.

Top US officials added that the US freedom of navigation patrols would ensure the lawful use of the international waterway by all nations as a matter of right that is guaranteed under international law.

PCA ruling

China has been reeling from the adverse ruling handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration this month rejecting its claims to almost the entirety of the disputed sea under its nine-dash line, raising concerns in the international community that Beijing might assert its claims forcefully.

The five-member panel ruled that Beijing violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Philippines' rights by constructing facilities on Mischief Reef.

Meanwhile, Beijing, which boycotted the court proceedings, dismissed the ruling as "illegal" and "null and void."

Besides China and the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Brunei have overlapping claims in the region.  

Tagsmilitary encounters, South China Sea, third party interference, Central Military Commission, unintended consequences, china