BEIJING (Dispatches) – China has urged the United States to stop playing up tensions and instigating confrontation in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Spokesperson for the ministry Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to a press statement issued by the U.S. State Department spokesperson on Aug 8 local time, which said the United States rejects China’s attempts to set up the national nature reserve at Huangyan Dao and deny Filipino fishermen access to their “traditional fishing ground” as reflected in the 2016 Arbitral Award.
“Huangyan Dao has always been China’s territory,” Guo said, adding that it is within China’s sovereign rights to establish and administer the Huangyan Dao national nature reserve.
He noted that the United States is in no position to point fingers, and the “South China Sea arbitral award”, which is illegal, null and void, provides no solid ground for the United States to speak for the Philippines.
China urges the United States to stop citing the illegal and invalid “award”, and stop using maritime issues as a pretext to smear China, the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, the United States has sent a team of coastguards to train their Taiwanese counterparts as Beijing steps up its presence East of the island.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said on Friday that its personnel were taking part in a two-week training program led by U.S. instructors. The training, which started on Monday, includes exercises aimed at strengthening small-boat operations and team coordination, South China Morning Post reported.
“The U.S. instruction team hopes to deepen the partnership between the two sides through joint training and work together to promote maritime security and stability,” the administration said.
It added that in an increasingly complex environment, frontline officers needed not only proficient boat-handling skills, but also better teamwork, on-the-spot judgment and the ability to respond to emergencies.
“Recently, the American Institute in Taiwan the de facto U.S. embassy also released the achievements of Taiwan-U.S. coastguard exchanges and cooperation, demonstrating the close and steady partnership between the two sides in maritime security and law enforcement,” the Coast Guard Administration said.
Last month, the institute posted an undated photo of a U.S. coastguard ship alongside a Taiwanese one on social media and said the U.S. and Taiwan were working together to coordinate search and rescue, disaster relief and maritime law enforcement operations.
Friday’s statement made no mention of Beijing, but mainland China has expanded its coastguard presence in waters East of the island in recent months.