The United States on Monday rejected China's disputed claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea, a move that Beijing criticized as inciting tensions in the region and which highlighted an increasingly testy relationship.
China has offered no coherent legal basis for its ambitions in the South China Sea and for years has been using intimidation against other Southeast Asian coastal states, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
"We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them," said Pompeo, a prominent China hawk within the Trump administration.
The United States has long opposed China's expansive territorial claims on the South China Sea, sending warships regularly through the strategic waterway to demonstrate freedom of navigation there. Monday's comments reflect a harsher tone.
"The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire," Pompeo said.
The Chinese embassy in the United States said in a statement dated Tuesday that Washington's accusation is "completely unjustified."
"Under the pretext of preserving stability, (the U.S.) is flexing muscles, stirring up tension and inciting confrontation in the region," it said.
The top Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee backed the administration's new stance.
"Continued ambiguity with respect to our policy on China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea no longer serves the shared interests of the Indo-Pacific region, given China’s aggressive actions and refusal to abide by international law," Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez and Representatives Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul said in a statement.
U.S. policy had previously been ambiguous in that it urged all sides to resolve their disputes peacefully, diplomatically and in line with international law but it did not take a position on the legality of the competing claims.
Regional analysts said it would be vital to see whether other nations adopt the U.S. stance and what, if anything, Washington might do to reinforce its position and prevent Beijing from creating "facts on the water" to buttress its claims.
The relationship between the United States and China has grown increasingly tense over the past six months over Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, its tightened grip on Hong Kong and its crackdown on China's Uighur Muslim community.
China claims 90% of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of it, through which about $3 trillion of trade passes each year. Beijing has built bases atop atolls in the region but says its intentions are peaceful.
Beijing routinely outlines the scope of its claims with reference to the so-called nine-dashed line that encompasses about nine-tenths of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer South China Sea on Chinese maps.
"This is basically the first time we have called it illegitimate," said Chris Johnson, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It's "fine to put out a statement, but what you going to do about it?"
Reuters
Tue Jul 14 2020
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., July 8, 2020. Photo REUTERS/Tom Brenner/Pool
AWANI Ringkas: Malaysia kecewa AS veto, halang PBB iktiraf Palestin
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Ringkas: Perang Iran-Israel
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Kes tangkapan lelaki Israel: 10 ditahan semula di bawah Sosma
Tiga terdiri suspek utama iaitu Avitan dan pasangan suami isteri telah dituduh di mahkamah pada minggu lalu, manakala lima lagi dibebaskan.
Wanita cedera diragut ketika tunggang motosikal ke tempat kerja
Mangsa dilapor alami kerugian kira-kira RM3,000 selepas kehilangan beg yang berisi telefon bimbit jenis iPhone 14, dokumen peribadi dan wang tunai RM114.
"OIC dah tak bermakna, tak berguna dalam meredakan ketegangan"
Pandangan dikongsi Prof Dr Salawati Mat Basir, Pakar undang-undang antarabangsa, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Perkembangan konflik Iran-Israel
Bagi perinciannya kita bersama Prof. Dr. Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor, Ketua Jabatan Sejarah dan Tamdun Islam, Universiti Malaya, UM.
Program Madani Rakyat Zon Utara di Tapak Pesta Sungai Nibong 3-5 Mei
Program MADANI Rakyat 2024 Zon Utara akan diadakan di Tapak Pesta Sungai Nibong, Pulau Pinang selama tiga hari bermula 3 Mei ini.
Malaysia kecewa AS veto, halang PBB iktiraf negara Palestin
Pelaksanaan veto ke atas perkara penting dan signifikan itu telah menimbulkan persoalan terhadap keinginan sebenar Ahli UNSC.
[TERKINI] Israel Serang Iran, Isfahan dibedil 3 letupan
Perkembangan konflik Iran-Israel
Bagi perinciannya kita bersama Ahli Kumpulan bagi Pertubuhan Perundingan Undang-undang Asia Afrika (AALCO), Profesor Datuk Dr Rahmat Mohamad.
Lai Ching-te dari DPP menang Pilihan Raya Taiwan
Lai berdepan saingan tiga penjuru dengan Hou Yu-ih dari Kuomintang (KMT) dan Ko Wen-je dari Parti Rakyat Taiwan.
Pilihan Raya Taiwan: Rakyat mula jalankan tanggungjawab masing-masing
Pilihan raya tersebut menyusul ketika Beijing meningkatkan tekanan untuk mendapatkan pulau itu menerima kedaulatannya.
Beijing alami lebih banyak salji, gelombang sejuk dijangka melanda
Kawasan perbandaran Beijing mengalami lebih banyak salji pada Khamis dengan gelombang sejuk dijangka melanda ibu negara China itu pada Jumaat.
33 maut hujan paling lebat landa Beijing
Sekurang-kurangnya lima pekerja bantuan adalah antara mangsa yang maut. 18 orang lagi mangsa masih hilang.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Blinken tiba di China bagi kendurkan ketegangan
Beberapa siri pertemuan dengan wakil kerajaan berpangkat tinggi dirancang sebelum Blinken berlepas pada Isnin.
Gelombang panas landa beijing, suhu cecah 39 darjah Celsius
Bandar raya Beijing mengeluarkan amaran pada tahap oren berikutan suhu tinggi diramal mencecah 39 darjah Celsius pada Jumaat, menurut pihak berkuasa cuaca tempatan.
Diplomat kanan China, AS bincang tingkatkan hubungan dua hala
Perbincangan itu diadakan di Beijing pada 5 Jun, lapor Sputnik yang memetik Kementerian Luar China pada Selasa.
Presiden Xi mahu Beijing terajui bidang sains dan teknologi
China komited meneruskan strategi keterbukaan serta sedia berganding tangan dengan semua untuk mempromosi inovasi sains dan teknologi.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.