Kerry says confident new U.S. administration will stick to same principles on regional security

REUTERS-Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday he was confident that the Trump administration would stick to the same principles on regional

security as those of the Obama administration.

In reference to the disputed South China Sea, he told a university audience in Hanoi that countries big or small should refrain from provocation and any dispute should be solved peacefully in accordance with international law.

His comments came after U.S. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson said the United States must send a clear signal to China that its island-building in the South China Sea must stop and that its access to those islands must not be allowed.