<br/> The US President elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson has said that the US should block access to islands built by China in contested waters of the South China Sea. Mr Tillerson said at his confirmation hearing yesterday before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the US is going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the island-building stops and second, their access to those islands is not going to be allowed. <br/>'Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, but Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims. <br/>'In July an international tribunal ruled against Chinese claims, supporting a case brought by the Philippines, however, Beijing said it would not respect the verdict.<br/>