Beijing, however, said the exercises were “within the framework of China’s territorial sovereignty”. (File)
Washington:
The Pentagon said it was “concerned” about Chinese military exercises around a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, warning that the maneuvers “will further destabilize” the region.
China’s growing military presence in disputed waters worries many of its neighbors, and Washington rejects Beijing’s land claims over much of the region, including the Paracel Islands.
“The Defense Ministry is concerned about the decision of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to conduct military exercises around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea from July 1-5,” the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday.
The activities “further destabilize the situation” in the area claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan, he added.
But Beijing has chained critics, declaring Friday that the exercises were “within the framework of the territorial sovereignty of China”.
“Some countries outside this region regularly travel to the South China Sea to perform large-scale military exercises, flexing their muscles,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a briefing. routine.
“This is the fundamental reason which affects the stability of the situation in the South China Sea.”
The Paracels are a group of equidistant islands from the coasts of China and Vietnam, claimed by the two countries as well as Taiwan, and a regular source of tension.
– “Restraint exercise” –
The United States also regularly conducts so-called “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea to resist Beijing, with the United States Navy sometimes sending warships to the Paracels. The region is believed to have valuable oil and gas deposits.
In April, a Chinese ship struck and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracels Islands, causing tension between the two countries.
Vietnam said on Friday that it had also delivered a protest note to China, warning “not to repeat similar violations in the future”.
Such exercises also violate “commitments made by Beijing under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to avoid activities that would complicate or aggravate disputes and harm peace and stability” , he added.
The statement, signed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, said that all parties “would avoid activities that would complicate or aggravate disputes and affect peace and stability”.
These exercises “are the latest in a long series of” Chinese actions “aimed at asserting illegal maritime claims and disadvantaging its neighbors in Southeast Asia in the South China Sea”.
The Pentagon urged “all parties to exercise restraint and not to engage in military activities likely to aggravate disputes” in the region, and said it would continue to monitor Chinese military activity.
In order to strengthen its land claims, Beijing has installed military equipment in recent years on Woody Island, the main island of the Paracels, built artificial islands in the region and strongly encouraged patriotic tourism in the archipelago.
Washington rejects Beijing’s land claim over much of the South China Sea, including the Paracels. 31 In April, China created new administrative units for Paracel and Spratly Islands, which are now governed by the city of Sansha, which China created on nearby Woody Island in 2012.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
