China tells Obama to keep out of South China Sea disputes
(Mian Khalid jamil, Lahore)
Beijing said Wednesday US
President Barack Obama should not get involved in disputes in the South China
Sea, after he demanded an end to artificial island building in the hotly
contested region.
"The United States should stop playing up the South China Sea issue, stop
heightening tensions in the South China Sea and stop complicating disputes in
the South China Sea," Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman, said at a regular
press briefing in Beijing.
"No country has the right to point fingers at" China's construction activities,
he added.
The rebuke came after Obama met with Philippine President Benigno Aquino in
Manila during the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) gathering.
Beijing has turned a series of reefs and outcrops in disputed waters into
artificial islands capable of hosting facilities with military purposes,
alarming other claimants.
"We discussed the impact of China's land reclamation and construction activities
on regional stability," Obama told reporters after meeting.
"We agree on the need for bold steps to lower tensions, including pledging to
halt further reclamation, new construction, and militarisation of disputed areas
in the South China Sea."
APEC members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have rival
claims to parts of the sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas
resources.
Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the
coasts of its Asian neighbours.
(Thanks to (AFP of Beijing)