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HANOI: US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said on Saturday (Jan 22) that the situation in the South China Sea is of deep concern, adding that China’s recent actions in the disputed waters are “seriously destabilizing”.
Kritenbrink made the comments during a visit to Hanoi amid rising tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, where Vietnam is also a claimant.
“We believe that China’s actions against the Philippines, particularly recently around the Second Thomas Shoal, are irresponsible, aggressive, dangerous and extremely destabilizing,” Kritenbrink told a limited media briefing in Hanoi, an audio recording of which was seen by Reuters.
“We will continue to stand with our Filipino allies,” Kritenbrink said, adding that Washington has made clear to Beijing, both publicly and privately, that the United States’ mutual defense treaty obligations with the Philippines are “unwavering.”
Philippine officials said on Friday they were not considering invoking a mutual defense treaty with the United States after the Philippines accused China of actively disrupting a resupply mission in the disputed South China Sea earlier this month.
China’s Foreign Ministry disputed the Philippines’s account, with a spokesman saying on Thursday that the necessary measures taken were legal, professional and beyond reproach.
“We believe that every country in the region, including China, needs to respect international law and behave responsibly in the maritime domain,” Kritenbrink said.
China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, a maritime trade route worth more than $3 trillion a year, including portions claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, but Beijing rejected the ruling.
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