China's "wild-eyed" territorial claims in the South China Sea have made sure the United States will succeed with its pivot to Asia, says the new head of a powerful US intelligence committee.



Devin Nunes, an up-and-coming Republican congressman, dismissed Chinese aspirations for "primacy" in Asia largely because its rapid military build-up was causing neighbours to respond in kind.



He took aim particularly at the string of artificial islands China has been building in the South China Sea, at least one of which contains supports a military-capable air strip as well as fortifications and deep-water ports.



"It's totally unnecessarily to build a stationary air craft carrier in the South China Sea right off the coast of nation states," said Mr Nunes, suggesting that the islands were intimidating but not militarily effective.



"They've managed to take long-time complicated relationships for the US and make them into allies," Mr Nunes said.



"Places like Vietnam, most notably, and even places like the Philippines where most people wanted our presence to move, and now almost all of the countries are asking for our help."



Mr Nunes, 41, is chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee and has access to intelligence from 17 agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency.



He was scathing about the Obama administration's "no strategy" in the Middle East but highly supportive of strategy and implementation in Asia, pointing to likely policy continuity regardless of who wins the presidential election in November 2016.



Mr Nunes said the said the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which stalled in Hawaii last week, was the last important piece of unfinished "pivot" business.



He was critical of US leaders for giving an impression that other nations should just accept key terms that were yet to be negotiated.



But he was confident that politically sensitive obstacles involving dairy, sugar and pharmaceutical prices would be resolved in time for an agreement early next year.



"I think most of those issues can be worked out," Mr Nunes said.

Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb has touted the economic benefits of the TPP and expressed regret that US President Barack Obama had described it as a geo-strategic counterweight to China.



Mr Nunes, however, said the TPP was community of nations that were seeking to resist Chinese economic coercion.



"When you add the countries that we're talking about – Japan, and Vietnam, Malaysia – these are all very important countries," Mr Nunes said.



"[But] because of the command-and-control apparatus of the state-owned enterprises system of the Chinese communist government, [China] can run roughshod over these smaller countries."



Mr Nunes said the TPP was about free and fair trade, strict rule of law and effective dispute resolution mechanisms that would prevent China from repeating efforts to limit rare earth exports to Japan or import bananas from the Philippines.

"I think it will stop the Chinese from being able to bear their economic thuggery that they possess because of the size and scope of their economy," he said.