U.S. warns China its actions in sea disputes are straining relations

From InterAksyon (May 16): U.S. warns China its actions in sea disputes are straining relations



Reuters file photo of General Fang Fenghui, chief of general staff in China's army.

China's "provocative" actions in maritime disputes with its neighbors are straining ties with the United States, raising questions over how the world's two biggest economies can work together, a senior U.S. official said.

The strong comments from Washington on Thursday (early Friday in the Philippines) come after deadly anti-China riots broke out in Vietnam in response to China towing an oil rig into a part of the South China Sea claimed by both Hanoi and Beijing.

"This is raising some fundamental questions for us about China's long-term strategic intentions," the U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said Beijing's move appeared to fit a "pattern" of advancing territorial claims through coercion and intimidation.

"China's activities are straining the U.S.-China relationship because it raises questions about our ability to partner together in Asia or even bilaterally."

The Vietnamese government says one person was killed in the anti-China violence on Tuesday and Wednesday, but a doctor at a hospital near one area of rioting said he had seen 21 dead bodies and that at least 100 people were wounded.

An eyewitness to fighting between Chinese and Vietnamese workers in an industrial zone in the same area said she had seen at least 13 bodies.

There were no immediate reports on Friday of further violence.

Washington is in close contact with the Vietnamese government on "how most effectively to manage" Hanoi's standoff with Beijing, the U.S. official told Reuters,

The Philippines, one of Washington's closest allies in Asia, has said China is reclaiming land on a reef in the oil- and gas-rich South China Sea that both countries claim and is building what appears to be an airstrip on it. It has offered the United States the use of an underdeveloped naval base on a nearby island to ensure U.S. warships can enter the vicinity.

Vice President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials told visiting General Fang Fenghui, chief of general staff in China's army, that Beijing's behavior in the maritime disputes was "dangerous and provocative" and must stop, the official said.

The renewed tensions in the South China Sea underscore one of the biggest challenges in Asia facing President Barack Obama, who is under pressure by America's allies to accelerate a "pivot" of military assets to the region to counter China's rising influence.

In Washington on Thursday, Fang defended the deployment of the oil rig in the disputed South China Sea and blamed Hanoi, saying China cannot afford to "lose an inch" of territory.

The general also pointed the finger at Obama's strategic shift toward Asia, saying it had encouraged countries such as Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines to make trouble with Beijing. Vietnam and China are now grappling with one of the worst breakdowns in relations since the neighbors fought a brief border war in 1979.

The crisis has erupted after a week-long visit to Asia by President Barack Obama in late April in which he pledged that Washington would live up to its obligation to defend its allies in the region.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/86967/u-s--warns-china-its-actions-in-sea-disputes-are-straining-relations