China warns US, India
China yesterday responded to a Reuters report that the US and India are discussing joint naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea, warning that interference from countries outside the region threatens peace and stability.
"No cooperation between any countries should be directed at a third party," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in an emailed statement to Reuters, in response to a request for comment on the report published on Wednesday.
"Countries from outside the area must stop pushing forward the militarisation of the South China Sea, cease endangering the sovereignty and national security of littoral countries in the name of 'freedom of navigation' and harming the peace and stability of the region."
The United States wants its regional allies and other Asian nations to adopt a more united stance against China over the South China Sea, where tension has spiked since China's construction of seven islands in the Spratly archipelago.
China lays claim to most of the South China Sea, while Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
A US defence official told Reuters this week the United States and India had held talks about joint naval patrols that could include the South China Sea.
Hong urged caution.
"We hope that the relevant parties speak and act with caution, refrain from intervening in the South China Sea issue, and especially avoid being manipulated by certain countries and ultimately harming their own interests."
China illustrates its claim to almost the entire South China Sea with a "nine-dashed line" on maps that loops far to the south, with sections far closer to the coasts of countries like the Philippines and Vietnam than to its shores.
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