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The embassy in Manila condemns the United States after its visit, a White House envoy promises support to the Philippines for maritime claims.
China has accused the United States of trying to “create chaos” in the Asia-Pacific, a day after US national security adviser Robert O’Brien, on a visit to the Philippines, backed countries in maritime disputes with China and accuse Beijing of using military pressure to advance its own interests.
During his trip to Manila, O’Brien told the Philippines and Vietnam, both countries in dispute with Beijing cover the South China Sea: “We stand behind you.” He also reiterated the United States’ commitment to self-government in Taiwan.
China said his comments were “unreasonable” and exaggerated regional tensions.
“We strongly oppose these comments that are full of Cold War mentality and unbridled incitement to confrontation,” the Chinese embassy in Manila said in a statement posted on its website. “It shows that his visit to this region is not to promote regional peace and stability, but to create chaos in the region in order to pursue the selfish interests of the United States.”
China condemned O’Brien’s remarks, seen in Manila with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr on the left, offering US support over the South China Sea. [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea under its so-called nine-line line and has in recent years built military installations on several disputed reefs and outcrops despite an international court ruling that found the line, which overlaps with the claims of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia – illegal.
The Philippines took its case to The Hague after a two-month standoff with Chinese fishing vessels over Scarborough Shoal in 2014 and the court ruled two years later that, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Philippines had exclusive rights over the resources within 370.4 km (200 nautical miles) of its coastline.
The ruling has not deterred China, which has continued to build bases at sea, while the United States has repeatedly sent warships through the area to highlight freedom of navigation on one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
‘Only one China’
The Chinese embassy accused the United States of “provocative” behavior.
“The facts have shown that the United States is the greatest driver of the militarization of the SCS and the most dangerous external factor that endangers the peace and stability of the SCS,” he said in the statement in reference to the waterway.
The United States regularly sends its navy through the South China Sea to highlight freedom of navigation. [File:
Samuel Hardgrove/US Navy via AFP]
China has been building military bases on reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea to reinforce its claim. [File/CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative/DigitalGlobe/Handout via Reuters]
China also criticized O’Brien’s comments on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own. O’Brien warned China that it would face a “backlash” if it tried to use military force to coerce the island.
The statement said that Taiwan was an “internal” matter for China.
“There is only one China in the world,” he said. “Both Taiwan and Hong Kong are inalienable parts of China. This is an objective fact and a basic norm that governs international relations ”.
China-U.S. Relations have deteriorated since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, and the two sides are at odds on issues ranging from democracy and human rights to technology and trade.
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to take a more diplomatic approach to China, but a more assertive approach to Beijing has broad bipartisan support in Washington, DC.
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