Senior U.S. officials on Tuesday pushed back against Chinese claims that a landmark trilateral summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea had “smeared and attacked” Beijing over its moves in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, saying that China itself had triggered concerns over those actions.

The officials reiterated U.S. President Joe Biden’s claim that the summit “was not about China” and instead focused on larger geopolitical concerns, but noted that discussions about the regional and global security environment — and Beijing’s role in it — were only “natural.”

Although the summit had focused on shared interests and values, and was intended to take advantage of improving ties between Tokyo and Seoul, “one cannot deny the strategic environment in which we exist and operate,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said. “So of course, it was natural that we would discuss some of the concerns and issues related to actions carried out by (China) that are of significant concern to our three countries and to many others around the region, around the world.”