Sailing in South China Sea is not provocative: U.S. Navy chief

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Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson, who was promoted to his post last month, made the remarks at a press roundtable in Tokyo at the start of a trip around Asia.

China claims most of the South China Sea and has warned that it would not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said on Tuesday the U.S. military would sail or fly wherever international law allowed.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)