In an interview with Washington-based media outlets, Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai criticized reports that the U.S. plans to send military planes and ships into the South China Sea.
"Our foreign ministry has asked the US to clarify the remarks. I think what we are doing is completely within our sovereign rights. No one has a right whatsoever to intervene. Can so many things in the world now be solved through a show of force? The Cold-War
mentality, which is prone to the use of force to resolve disputes, is outdated."
A US official earlier said that the Pentagon is considering sending U.S. military aircraft and ships to "assert freedom of navigation" around Chinese-made artificial islands in the South China Sea.
Cui says China has consistently opposed the high-intensity close-in reconnaissance activities conducted by the U.S. military along China's coastal waters, and such activities are not allowed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Commenting on the plan by the Philippines to open more of its military bases to the U.S. in an attempt to deter China, Cui stressed that territorial disputes in Asia-Pacific cannot be resolved through the use of military force. China is willing to settle the problem via
diplomatic negotiations.
"China has a good record of constructively seeking to resolve territorial disputes through diplomatic talks, which can be demonstrated by the deals China has reached with 12 neighboring countries with common borders on land. We hope countries involved in
water disputes with China can also solve problems in this way."
On the upcoming visit to China by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry this weekend, Cui says there will be many issues on the agenda of the talks, including the South China Sea.
He says he believes that China and the United States can cooperate on most of the issues, despite some disagreements.
For CRI, I'm Xiao Yee.
