Howard urges South China Sea patience

Former prime minister John Howard has warned countries should guard against overreaction as tensions rise over the South China Sea.

Mr Howard told Griffith University overnight that people who fret about the possibility of conflict should recall the long saga of the quarrel decades ago between China and Taiwan over control of the Kinmen and Matsu islands.

"Conflict between the United States and China was feared on numerous occasions, yet it did not eventuate," he said.