Washington: The US has strongly refuted the Chinese claim that what it is doing in the disputed South China Sea is akin to the US’ deploying of defence facilities in Hawaii, saying no other country has a claim on Hawaii.
“There is no other country that has a claim on Hawaii. But yet when you consider the land features in the South China Sea, there are a variety of overlapping territorial claims that a variety of countries have made on those features,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday.
Earnest’s remarks came in response to Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying who yesterday said China was doing in the South China Sea what the US does in Hawaii. “China deploying necessary national defence facilities on its own territory is no different from the US deploying defence facilities on Hawaii,” Hua said.
Recognising that Chinese government may have disagreement about the claims made by other countries, Earnest said that is precisely the reason the US believes all the parties should resolve their differences about this matter in a way that does not provoke a military confrontation. “That is why we have urged all parties who are claimants to these features – the US is not among them, we’ve encouraged all of the countries that do have claims to resolve them in a peaceful, legal manner and to avoid confrontation and to seek to avoid escalating the tensions in that area of the world,” Earnest said.
Noting that America hoped that tensions in that part of the world would be reduced, Earnest said they can be reduced if all of the claimants to the land features in the South China Sea make the same kind of commitment that was seen from the leaders of ASEAN in California just last week. “In the context of the summit, the leaders of ASEAN committed to not building up a military presence on those features that are the subject of competing claims,” he said. “That is a responsible way to resolve differences of opinion over those features, and we certainly would urge the Chinese and every other country that has a competing claim here to abide by that standard,” Earnest said.
Observing that the stakes for the US are not insignificant, Earnest said America would want to ensure that the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the South China Sea is protected. “There’s a lot of commerce that flows through that part of the world, and it has a significant impact on the United States if that commerce is somehow disrupted,” Earnest said. “So that’s why we’re seeking to reduce tensions and encouraging all sides to come together to resolve their differences in a way that does not provoke a military confrontation,” he said.
Meanwhile, a US think tank – Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) – released new images that seem to show a powerful radar being installed on one of the disputed islands in the South China Sea.
This comes just a few days after evidence that China was installing missiles on another set of islands in the same area.
Tensions in the South China Sea, through which a third of the world’s oil passes, have mounted in recent months after China transformed contested reefs in the Spratly islands.
China has accused the US of “double standards” on the issue of militarisation of the South China Sea. Last week, President Barack Obama said the US will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and will support the right of all countries to do the same.
He had also called for “tangible steps” to reduce tensions in the South China Sea. (PTI)
