US-China clash in the UN Security Council over the South China Sea disputes

Admin
August 10, 2021

The United States and China clashed over Beijing’s “actions” in the South China Sea during a high-level meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday on maritime security.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken commented on Beijing’s increasing claims to areas of the South China Sea, saying: “In the South China Sea, we have witnessed serious confrontations between ships at sea and provocative actions to advance illegal maritime claims. The United States has been clear about its concerns regarding with measures to intimidate and bully other countries that legally enter their marine resources.

 

“The greater responsibility lies with the United States and all other countries to defend the rules we have all agreed to follow, and to resolve maritime disputes peacefully,” he added.

China’s deputy envoy to the United Nations, Dai Bing, responded by accusing the United States of being “the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea” and calling its “noise” at the UN Security Council “entirely politically motivated.”

He also described the decision of an international arbitration court in favor of the Philippines as “null and without any binding force”, considering that “there are clear errors in determining the facts.”

“The situation in the South China Sea is generally stable, and Beijing is making efforts to reach a sea-specific code of conduct with the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),” he added.

He continued, “The United States has no credibility in maritime issues because it is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world’s oceans.”

 

Source: “Associated press