US wades into South China Sea disputes

The Obama administration on Friday waded into thorny territorial disputes over islands in the South China Sea, declaring their resolution to be a U.S. "national interest" in a move likely to irritate China.

At a regional security forum in Vietnam, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington was concerned that conflicting claims on the Spratly and Paracel island chains interfere with maritime commerce, hamper access to international waters in the area and undermine the U.N. law of the sea.

"The United States has a national interest" in resolving the claims, she said. "The United States supports a collaborative …