The Pentagon on Thursday said that it is “concerned” about Chinese military exercises around a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, adding that the maneuvers would “further destabilize” the region.
“The [US] Department of Defense is concerned about the People’s Republic of China decision to conduct military exercises around the Paracel Islands [Xisha Islands, 西沙群島] in the South China Sea on July 1-5,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The activities “further destabilize the situation” in the area claimed by Taiwan, China and Vietnam, it said.
Such exercises also contravene Beijing’s “commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to avoid activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability,” it said.
The declaration, signed by ASEAN members, says that all parties should “avoid activities that would complicate or escalate disputes, and affect peace and stability.”
The exercises “are the latest in a long string” of Chinese actions “to assert unlawful maritime claims and disadvantage its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea,” the Pentagon statement said.
It urged “all parties to exercise restraint and not undertake military activities that might aggravate disputes” in the region, adding that it would continue to monitor Chinese military activity.
The Chinese exercises are taking place amid a rise in US-China tensions over the COVID-19 pandemic, in which Washington has accused Beijing of hiding and downplaying the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China.
Washington rejects Beijing’s territorial claim to much of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands.
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