Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has visited US Pacific Fleet headquarters in Hawaii, as strategic experts warn the South China Sea will become a “virtual Chinese lake” by 2030.

Mr Turnbull stopped off at the military base on his way home from Washington and discussed tensions in the South China Sea with US Pacific fleet Commander Admiral Harry Harris.

Coinciding with this meeting, a review of the US defence strategy in the Asia-Pacific region was released by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

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The report said by 2030 there would always be a Chinese aircraft carrier strike group floating in the contested waters of the South China Sea or at least within a half-day’s steaming time.

The South China Sea will virtually be a “Chinese lake” just as the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico is for the US today, the report warned.

Malcolm Turnbull with US Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris during his visit to Pearl Harbour. Photo: Department of the PM

The CSIS said the US needed to determine how, where and when they would work with China as “the story of China’s return to great power status” continued to unfold.

The report also said that only 30 per cent of Australians saw China as a military threat, with 77 per cent seeing China as more of an economic partner than a security threat.

It said Mr Turnbull appeared to be committed to upholding international rules in the South China Sea, even if this caused “friction” between Australia and China.

Last year in a speech in Canberra, Commander Harris warned of unprecedented land reclamation by China, accusing the country of building a “great wall of sand” in its claiming of islands.

On Wednesday, Mr Turnbull visited the White House for the first time as Prime Minister and spoke with US President Barack Obama about the fight against Islamic State and the world’s struggling economy.

The pair also discussed the importance of the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal and cyber security and how that relates to international terrorism.

Mr Turnbull came to the United States after visiting troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.