(Global Times): China’s permanent representative to the United Nations Fu Cong on Monday refuted the erroneous remarks made by the US representative who slandered China for so-called “expansive and illegal claims” in the South China Sea.
Fu stated that the US is not a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and it is all the more unqualified to act as a “judge” of the convention and dictate to other countries, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
Delivering a supplementary statement at the UN Security Council’s open debate on the international rule of law on Monday, Fu stated that China firmly opposes the erroneous remarks by the US representative on the South China Sea issue and has no choice but to make a solemn response.
China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters, and enjoys sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant maritime areas.
China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea are underpinned by solid historical and legal grounds, Fu sated, Xinhua reported.
Fu noted that the US is not a state party to the UNCLOS, and it is all the more unqualified to act as a “judge” of the convention and dictate to other countries.
Disregarding the historical context and objective facts of the South China Sea issue, the US has been sowing discord and stirring up troubles everywhere. It has even deployed offensive weapons, including land-based medium-range missiles, in the South China Sea region.
Under the pretext of “freedom of navigation”, the US frequently sends advanced warships and aircraft to conduct military reconnaissance and exercises in the South China Sea, and arbitrarily intrudes into China’s territorial seas, airspace and the maritime and air areas adjacent to China’s islands and reefs.
Who on earth is engaging in coercion and bullying in the South China Sea, who is disrupting regional stability and threatening the freedom and security of navigation, and who is undermining the international rule of law? The truth is self-evident, Fu stated.
