Washington: Asserting that the US has any no territorial claim in the South China Sea, China today said that it would be better for the countries in the region to resolve the issue among themselves.
China claims almost all of South China Sea and also laid claims on the Senkaku islands under the control of Japan in East China Sea and resorted to aggressive patrols in the last two years.
The US calls the dominance of China over the SCS a threat to national interest in freedom of navigation.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said China’s “provocative actions” challenge international law and norms.
Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said China has made its position “very clear”.
“On the South China Sea we have made our position very clear, and I think that the United States side should try to have a better understanding of it,” Cui said ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China early next month.
“The United States does not have any territorial claims in the South China Sea. So maybe, it will be better for the US to let the regional countries to continue our communication and discussion and find a way of managing the situation in the friendly and effective way,” Cui said in response to a question on South China Sea.
Calling for “denuclearisation” of the entire Korean peninsula, Cui said China would always stand for peace and stability.
“We always advocate negotiated solution. This has not changed,” he said.
“If we fail to have negotiations resumed, if we allow the situation to go on like this, it could get more dangerous. So there is a strong sense of urgency here,” he added.
China, he said, is open to any talks between any parties, as long as they are conducive to a peaceful solution, to a negotiated solution of the nuclear issue.
He asserted that China is doing everything it can on the Korean issue.
“On the one hand, we are enforcing all the UN Security Council resolutions. We are taking measures to implement these sanctions, although honestly, many of the sanctions will be implemented with a high cost for China itself, because we are North Korea’s neighbour,” he said.
“But still, we believe there’s a larger global interest in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, so we are ready to take up more costs and make greater efforts if there are more UN Security Council resolutions,” he said, noting that at the same time, this issue cannot be solved by China itself.
It requires joint efforts of all the parties concerned, including the United States and including North Korea, he added.