US stands with Southeast Asian countries against China pressure: Blinken
28 January, 2021
AMERICA rejects China's maritime claims in the South China Sea beyond what it really is permitted under international law and stands with Southeast Asian countries resisting its pressure, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday (Jan 27).
Blinken built the remarks in a call with Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin, the US STATE DEPT. said in a statement.
"Secretary Blinken pledged to stand with Southeast Asian claimants in the face of PRC pressure," it explained, referring to the People's Republic of China.
China claims almost all of the energy-rich South China Sea, which is also a significant trade way. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan possess overlapping claims.
AMERICA has accused China of taking advantage of the distraction of the coronavirus pandemic to advance its occurrence in the South China Sea.
The State Department said Blinken, who took business office this week in Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, "underscored that america rejects China's maritime claims in the South China Sea to the degree they go beyond the maritime zones that China is permitted to say under international law".
US relations with China deteriorated in former US President Donald Trump over a number of issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese policies on Hong Kong, Beijing's treatment of its Muslim minority and trade.
Fourteen days ago, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and businesses for alleged misdeeds found in the South China Ocean.
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