Pacific allies the United States and Australia has issued a warning to china, saying they remain committed to freedom of navigation that includes in the disputed South China Sea where china has built islands.
“Together our nations favor peaceful resolutions to disputes and oppose coercion and infringement on well-established international norms, especially in the face of rising tensions in the east and South China Sea. Now, make no mistake, the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as we do around the world, and the South China Sea is not and will not be an exception,” U.S. secretary of defense, Ash Carter said.
China has disputes with several of its Southeast Asian neighbors over claims to marine territory in the busy strategic route through which trillions of dollars in trade passes every year. Beijing has taken to building artificial islands to bolster its claims.
“First of all, just to repeat something I said in the statement t the beginning, and we have said repeatedly, we will fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits, we’ll do that at times and places of our choosing and there’s no exception to that, whether it’s the arctic or the sea lanes that fuel international commerce widely around the world or the south china sea,” the defense secretary added. (Eagle News Service)