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发帖数: 372 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 Military 讨论区 】
发信人: hstlqamd (British Robot), 信区: Military
标 题: US warns Beijing on South China Sea islands
关键字: US,Beijing,South China Sea,islands
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Sat Jun 3 04:15:17 2017, 美东)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40141541
US warns Beijing on South China Sea islands
4 hours ago
From the section Asia
GETTY IMAGES
Image caption
China is one of a number of countries who lay claim to parts of the South
China Sea
The US will not accept China's militarisation of man-made islands in the
South China Sea, Defence Secretary James Mattis has warned.
Speaking at a security conference in Singapore, he said such moves
undermined regional stability.
China's territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea are
contested by several nations.
At the same time, Gen Mattis praised Beijing's efforts to restrain North
Korea's missile and nuclear activity.
His comments came shortly after the UN Security Council expanded targeted
sanctions against North Korea in response to a series of missile tests
conducted this year.
The council voted unanimously to back the sanctions after weeks of
negotiations between the US and China.
Why is the South China Sea contentious?
See images from Woody/Yongxing Island
China's Island Factory
Flying close to Beijing's new South China Sea islands
In his speech at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue forum, Gen Mattis said: "We
oppose countries militarising artificial islands and enforcing excessive
maritime claims.
"We cannot and will not accept unilateral, coercive changes to the status
quo."
President Donald Trump and other senior US officials have repeatedly stated
that they would protect its interests in the South China Sea, a key shipping
route.
During his nomination hearing earlier this year, Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson warned that the US was "going to have to send China a clear signal
that first the island-building stops, and second your access to those
islands also is not going to be allowed."
In response, the Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing would "remain firm to
defend its rights in the region".
REUTERS
Image caption
Gen Mattis sought to reassure that America was not turning its back on Asia
But in Singapore Gen Mattis also struck a positive note on US-China
relations, saying that while competition between the two countries "is bound
to occur, conflict is not inevitable".
The biggest question amongst Asian delegates attending the forum has been
how much of a role the US will continue to play in this increasingly tense
region, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Singapore reports.
She adds that Gen Mattis sought to reassure his peers that the US was not
turning its back on Asia.
line break
What is the South China Sea dispute?
Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for
centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years.
Its islets and waters are claimed in part or in whole by Taiwan, China,
Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Beijing has been building artificial islands on reefs and carrying out naval
patrols in waters also claimed by these other nations.
Although the previous US administration of Barack Obama insisted it was
neutral, it spoke out strongly against the island-building and sought to
build ties with, and among, the South East Asian nations whose claims
overlap those of China.
In July 2016, an international tribunal ruled against Chinese claims,
backing a case brought by the Philippines, but Beijing said it would not
respect the verdict.
The frictions have sparked concern that the area is becoming a flashpoint
with global consequences. |
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