BEIJING: China's official Xinhua news agency on Saturday accused US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton of "meddling" in the South China Sea
territorial disputes.
Rival claims have for decades
made the resource-rich waters one of Asia's potential military flashpoints and
tensions have risen in the last year with the Philippines and Vietnam accusing
China of becoming increasingly aggressive.
At an Asian security forum in
Cambodia this week, Clinton called on all sides to resolve the disputes
"without coercion, without intimidation, without threats and certainly
without the use of force".
Xinhua said in a commentary:
"Though wary of overtly irking China, Clinton further meddled in the South
China Sea issue by repeatedly highlighting America's interests there and openly
supporting individual ASEAN members' scheme to complicate the maritime
dispute."
Divisions over members'
territorial disputes with China prevented the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) from issuing its customary joint statement at the conclusion of
its meeting in Cambodia on Friday.
China essentially claims the
whole of the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in hydrocarbons and
straddles strategic shipping lanes vital to global trade.
Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam,
Brunei and Malaysia also have claims in the waters, causing regular diplomatic
flare-ups.
Xinhua accused Clinton of
stirring up tensions in 2010 when she said Washington had a "national
interest" in the area. She had also urged that maritime rows should be
settled by international law, in defiance of China's call to handle them
directly with its neighbours.
The news agency said
"China's maritime territorial sovereignty has been severely infringed this
year" by the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam.
"Though China always
exercises restraint and insists on diplomatic solutions to the disputes, some
countries keep challenging China, which certainly has something to do with US
re-engagement in the region," it said.
"Washington must understand
that returning to Asia by way of militarily flexing its muscle and
diplomatically intervening in bilateral disputes is wrong and
short-sighted."
- AFP/ck
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