China yesterday said it had “irrefutable” sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea after the White House vowed to defend “international territories” in the strategic waterway.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday signaled a sharp departure from years of cautious US handling of China’s assertive pursuit of territorial claims in Asia.
“The US is going to make sure that we protect our interests there,” Spicer said when asked if US President Donald Trump agreed with comments by his secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson.
Tillerson, on Jan. 11, said China should not be allowed access to islands it has built in the South China Sea.
“It’s a question of if those islands are, in fact, in international waters and not part of China proper, then yeah, we’re going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country,” Spicer said.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) told a regular news briefing yesterday that “the United States is not a party to the South China Sea dispute.”
China’s sovereignty over the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea was “irrefutable” Hua said.
“Our actions in the South China Sea are reasonable and fair. No matter what changes happen in other countries, what they say or what they want to do, China’s resolve to protect its sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea will not change,” she added.
Spicer declined to elaborate when asked how the US could enforce such a move against China, except to say: “I think, as we develop further, we’ll have more information on it.”
Center for a New American Security South China Sea expert Mira Rapp-Hooper called the threats to bar China’s access in the South China Sea “incredible” and said it had no basis in international law.
“A blockade — which is what would be required to actually bar access — is an act of war,” she said.
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