US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has sharply criticized China's policy in the South China Sea, accusing the country of jeopardizing regional stability
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2019) US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has sharply criticized China's policy in the South China Sea, accusing the country of jeopardizing regional stability.
"Chinese conduct ... infringes on the sovereign rights of other states. We witness this behavior most recently in Malaysia, the Philippines and here, in Vietnam, with the harassment of the country's long-standing oil and gas activities ... Combined with reclamation and militarization of the outposts in the South China Sea, China's unilateral efforts to assert illegitimate maritime claims threaten other nations' access to vital natural resources, undermine the stability of regional energy markets and increase the risk of conflict," Esper told students at the Diplomatic academy of Vietnam on Wednesday.
The defense secretary accused China of blocking regional countries' access to "an estimated $2.5 trillion" worth of unexploited hydrocarbon resources, stressing that the United States opposed firmly this "intimidation."
"This sort of behavior stands in stark contrast to the US vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, in which all nations, big and small, prosper side by side in peace and stability," Esper said, noting that Washington's vision was based on cooperation, respect for sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes, free trade and investment, and freedom of navigation.
The United States will maintain its routine military presence in the South China Sea "to demonstrate the seriousness of our commitment," Esper emphasized.
The majority of islands in the South China Sea are controlled by Beijing, but are also claimed by several other countries, including Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia and the Philippines. While China accuses the Philippines and Vietnam of using the US support for escalating tensions, Washington questions Beijing's commitment to peacefully resolving maritime disputes.
