DUSHANBE, August 6, 2012, Asia-Plus – International media sources report that China”s Foreign Ministry has called in a senior US diplomat to protest against remarks by the State Department over rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea.
The BBC reported today that Chinese state media have hit out at US “trouble-making” on the South China Sea, two days after Beijing summoned a US diplomat on the issue.
One commentary told the US to “shut up” on the subject, while another said it had “deservedly evoked curses.”
The response came after the US State Department said it was “closely” monitoring increased tensions in the South China Sea.
It also expressed concern over China”s move to militarize a disputed island.
Washington has accused Beijing of raising tensions in the region after it announced last week the establishment of the tiny city of Sansha and a garrison on an island in the disputed Paracel chain. The move has infuriated Vietnam and the Philippines, who accuse Beijing of stepping up harassment at sea.
A US State Department spokesman, Patrick Ventrell, had said China”s establishment of the city and garrison ran ””counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences”” and risked escalating tensions.
But China”s Foreign Ministry reacted angrily to the US statement, voicing its ””strong dissatisfaction and opposition””, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The US criticism “”completely ignored the facts, deliberately confounded right and wrong, and sent a seriously wrong signal, which is not conducive to the efforts safeguarding the peace and stability of the South China Sea and the Asia Pacific region,”” a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
The establishment of Sansha was “”completely within China”s sovereignty,” he said.
He accused the US of ””selective blindness”” as ””certain countries”” escalated disputes by opening oil and gas blocks, threatening Chinese fishermen, and illegally appropriating territory.
Also on Saturday, a commentary on Xinhua attacked the US accusations as “”groundless and irresponsible”” and urged Washington to “”draw back its meddling hand from the South China Sea disputes.”
Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, home to shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.
Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have vying claims to different areas.
