China criticizes U.S. for giving tacit backing to Philippines in sea dispute
China
criticized U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday for giving tacit
backing to the Philippines' stance in a tense maritime dispute, stressing again
that it rejects Manila's attempt to seek arbitration. The Philippines, a U.S.
ally, has angered China by launching an arbitration case with the United
Nations to challenge the legal validity of Beijing's sweeping claims over the
resource-rich South China Sea.
Kerry told leaders at the East Asia Summit in Brunei,
including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, that all claimants "can engage in
arbitration and other means of peaceful negotiation".When asked about
Kerry's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that
"non-parties to the dispute should respect the efforts by relevant parties
involved to peacefully solve the dispute through direct and friendly
negotiation ... instead of doing things that could harm regional peace and
stability".China claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China
Sea, overlapping with claims from Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and
Vietnam. The last four are members of the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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