US STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN JEN Psaki told reporters in Washington that US Secretary of State John Kerry described the latest Chinese moves against Vietnamese provocations in the South China Sea as "provocative" during a telephone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, however, denied hearing the word.

"US Secretary of State Kerry made no such comment during the phone conversation," Hua reportedly told Xinhua news agency. On the contrary, Kerry's message was that the United States does not take sides in the South China Sea dispute, and has no intention of making any judgment on the issue of territorial sovereignty, Xinhua said.