ABOARD A
Carter, speaking
to reporters at the start of a 10-day trip to Asia, said the United States
was trying to maintain a shared regional security structure that had advanced
"prosperity for everyone" over the past 70 years.
"We've been
flying over the South China Sea for years and
years and years, and ... will continue to do that: fly, navigate, operate. So
that's not a new fact," Carter said.
"The new
facts are the reclamation and the scale on which it is being done, and that's
not an American fact, that's a Chinese fact," Carter said.
The United States has publicly highlighted Chinese
island-building in the disputed Spratly
Islands several times in
recent weeks. Carter called for an end to the land reclamation work by China and other
countries on Wednesday and a halt to the militarization of the territorial
dispute.
The U.S. Navy
last week sent a reconnaissance plane carrying Navy and television camera crews
to film the Chinese dredging work, which U.S. officials say has added some
2,000 acres to five outposts in the resource-rich Spratlys, including 1,500
this year.
The Spratlys are
claimed by half a dozen countries, including the Philippines ,
Malaysia , Vietnam and China .
Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying deflected criticism, saying it was the Philippines that had conducted large-scale
construction activities on what she said were China 's
islands and reefs since the 1970s, saying China would not "recognize the
illegal occupation".
"We urge the
Philippines to stop making
erroneous remarks and we also urge the United
States , which is not a party to the South
China Sea dispute, to take a responsible attitude, be prudent in
words and deeds, be reasonable and calm, and stop making provocative
remarks," she told a news conference.
"These types
of remarks are not conducive to solving the dispute peacefully, but will
further damage the region's peace and stability."
Carter, asked
whether the United States
would send ships to within 12 miles of the Chinese-built islands to demonstrate
Washington does not accept Beijing 's territorial claims, said, "The
United States will ... fly, sail, operate, wherever international law
allows."
He also rejected
the notion that the islands, which China built on previously submerged
reefs, could claim 12 miles of territorial waters.
"The 12
nautical miles that I think you're referring to does not pertain to features
that were submerged and now are no longer submerged," Carter said.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/29/15/china-reclamation-west-ph-sea-creates-new-facts-says-us-defense-chief
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