The South China Sea has once again sparked a furious tirade from China as Beijing slammed the United States as “shameful” for its regional policy.
The US has increasingly locked horns with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) amid increasingly aggressive operations against its close allies the Philippines.
Beijing, however, hit out at what it dismissed as American interference, claiming Washington has been fuelling frictions with Manila for selfish reasons.
In a blistering statement issued on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website, China said: “The US has played a most shameful role. In pursuit of its geopolitical self-serving goals, it supports the illegal actions of the Philippine side and uses the South China Sea issue to provoke the relations between China and the states in the region.”
The PRC reiterated it holds Manila responsible for the recent escalation in tensions and claimed its growing alliances with the US to undermine Chinese operations in the area.
The statement added that the Philippines had “provoked maritime disputes and joined hands with outside forces in a show of military might,” and “spread false information to defame and discredit China.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry added: “To a discerning eye, it is clear whose interests are served by the Philippines’ foreign policy and for whom it is working through its actions at sea.
“In this regard, countries in the region must be especially vigilant, take the lead, and firmly hold the peace and stability of the South China Sea in their hands,” the Chinese diplomats emphasised.”
Since territorial hostilities with China surged last year in the South China Sea, Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s administration has taken steps to forge new security alliances with several Asian and Western countries and allowed a larger US military presence in more Philippine bases under a 2014 defence pact.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday said that American support for Manila was “ironclad” and praised Marcos for a powerful statement “about how the Philippines is standing up for its sovereign rights under international law.”
Secretary Austin also stressed the significance of renewing military-to-military communications between China and the US to avoid “misperceptions” and prevent “miscalculations.”
He said: “There are a number of things that can happen at sea or in the air, we recognise that.
“But our goal is to make sure that we don’t allow things to spiral out of control unnecessarily.”
