Beijing Calls US Behavior In South China Sea Irresponsible After Pompeo's Remarks

The behavior of some faraway countries that undermine the situation in the South China Sea is irresponsible, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday, reacting to a statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding recent developments in the region

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2019) The behavior of some faraway countries that undermine the situation in the South China Sea is irresponsible, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday, reacting to a statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding recent developments in the region.

Speaking at an energy conference in Texas on Tuesday, Pompeo said that China was blocking access to recoverable energy reserves worth $2.5 trillion to countries of the Asia-Pacific. According to the top US diplomat, China's illegal construction of islands in international waters was not just a security issue but one that concerned the blocking of access to resources.

"Indeed, China still has certain disputes in the South China Sea with the sides of the region regarding the ownership of islands and offshore areas. China believes that these disputes should be resolved directly by the sides involved in the dispute through friendly consultations.

At the same time, some remote countries are undermining the situation. This is a very irresponsible behavior on their part toward this region," Lu said at a briefing.

The South China Sea and the East China Sea are sources of tension for China and its neighbors, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, as the countries continue to argue over the waters' maritime borders. China considers the Sprathy archipelago, a group of artificial islands located in the South China Sea, as its territory, despite an international tribunal ruling that these claims had no legal basis.

The South China Sea is also a thorn in the side of US-China relations, with the United States criticizing Beijing for moving weapons to the Sprathy archipelago, something that China qualifies as interference in its internal affairs.