MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2019) The United States is concerned about reports of Beijing's "bullying" in the South China Sea where it prevents other countries from drilling for oil and gas, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Saturday.
"The United States firmly opposes coercion and intimidation by any claimant to assert its territorial or maritime claims. China should cease its bullying behavior and refrain from engaging in this type of provocative and destabilizing activity," she said in a statement.
Ortagus did not name any particular incident but said China had interfered with oil and gas exploration and production of Vietnam. She quoted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who had accused China of preventing Southeast Asian nations of accessing over $2.5 trillion in energy resources.
"China's reclamation and militarization of disputed outposts in the SCS, along with other efforts to assert its unlawful SCS maritime claims, including the use of maritime militia to intimidate, coerce and threaten other nations, undermine the peace and security of the region," she added.
Ortagus also slammed China for pressuring the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to accept Code of Conduct provisions that would restrict their right to partner up with third party companies or countries to extract resources.
