BEIJING, China (Reuters) – The Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the United States to play a “constructive” role in the South China Sea disputes on Monday (May 6).
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that his country could not allow China to use its economic power to “buy its way out of other problems, whether it’s militarizing islands in the South China Sea or failing to put appropriate pressure on North Korea.”
China’s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
China and Japan both claim islands in the East China Sea.
With growing fears that the US could not be relied on to maintain a buffer against China’s assertiveness, several Asian nations have bolstered informal alliances among themselves.