Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is seriously concerned about increased Chinese militarisation in the contested South China Sea. He was responding to reports Beijing has deployed surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island in the region. China dismissed the reports as "hype", but said it had the right under international law to defend itself. Several nations claim territory in the resource-rich South China Sea, which is also an important shipping route. A spokesman for Mr Kerry said satellite images appeared to confirm China had deployed anti-aircraft missiles on Woody or Yongxing Island in the Paracels. Read more