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MANILA: The Chinese embassy in the Philippines has denounced the United States for “creating chaos” in Asia, after a visiting White House envoy backed countries in disputes with China and accused Beijing of using military pressure to promote its interests.
During a trip to Manila on Monday (November 23), National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien underscored the United States’ commitment to Taiwan and told the Philippines and Vietnam, both locked in maritime disputes with China, that “you will we stand behind “. .
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“It shows that your 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,” the embassy said in a statement released Monday by the night.
The United States should “stop inciting confrontation” in the South China Sea and “stop making irresponsible comments on the Taiwan and Hong Kong issue, which are purely China’s internal affairs,” the statement said.
O’Brien warned China that it would face a “backlash” if it tried to use military force to coerce Taiwan, which China considers one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties.
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The United States and China have disagreed on issues from technology and human rights to China’s maritime militarization, with each accusing the other of deliberately provocative behavior.
China’s claim on 90 percent of the South China Sea includes areas claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. An international court in 2016 ruled that China’s broad lawsuit, based on its historical maps, is inconsistent with international law.
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The United States has repeatedly sent warships onto the strategic waterway to demonstrate freedom of navigation there.
“The facts have shown that the United States is the biggest driver of militarization,” the embassy statement said, calling it “the most dangerous external factor” in the South China Sea.
The US embassy in Manila did not have an immediate response.
