Beijing: Rejecting US accusations of establishing a ‘sea empire’ in the disputed South China Sea, China on Tuesday claimed that it had sovereignty over the vast sea for more than a thousand years. China alleged that the US is trying to sow the seeds of a dispute between it and other countries in South East Asia.
It is noteworthy that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave an important policy speech on Monday that the world will not allow the strategically important South China Sea to be used as a maritime empire of China. He also assured the support of South East Asian countries against the bullying campaign by China to occupy the resource-rich area.
Commenting on Pompeo’s statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said while addressing the media in Beijing that the US Secretary of State has ignored the history and facts related to the South China Sea. He also questioned the US claim that in 2009 China came to the South Sea with nine-point lines to resolve its claim. Zhao said, “America said that China had announced the point line in the South China Sea in 2009 which is not true.”
It has sovereignty over the history of China. We have effective rights over the islands and waters of the South China Sea more than a thousand years ago. ” He said, “Since the year 1948, China officially publishes a map outlining the border with the point line and no country in the region has raised any questions.”
Zhao said that China has legal and historical authority. It is noteworthy that in 2016, the Hague-based international tribunal had reprimanded Beijing for creating artificial islands in the area, rejecting China’s claims on the South China Sea. Zhao said that “the tribunal abused its authority, violating the principle of consent.” The tribunal had said that there is no legal basis to prove a historical claim on the resources of the South China Sea and that it violated the sovereignty of the Philippines in the disputed territory. Pompeo said the tribunal favored almost all of the Philippines’ claims in the case brought for arbitration.
Zhao said, “The verdict was based on bogus evidence and unwanted use of the law.” The US is using the arbitration tribunal’s decision to push its agenda which China will never accept. ” Zhao said that China is committed to resolving the matter with the countries concerned. It is notable that China claims almost all parts of the South China Sea spread over 1.3 million square miles. He is setting up military bases in Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam by building artificial islands in the claimed areas.
