China urges US to take objective view of South China Sea

BEIJING - China on Monday urged the US side to take an objective view of the South China Sea issue and stop making irresponsible remarks to incite tension and antagonism.

"We hope the US could ignore the element of allies or no allies and view the issue simply from the rights and wrongs," said foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying at the daily press briefing.

Hua's remarks came after US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed China's land reclamation projects in the area are "a threat to peace and stability".

Blinken recently referred to China's construction activities in the South China Sea as "unilaterally and coercively changing the status quo".

Hua said China's recent construction activities are entirely on its own islands and reefs, and it is totally different in nature from some countries' seizure of Chinese islands and building facilities there.

"There is no such thing of China unilaterally and coercively changing the status quo," said Hua.

She added that China has never recognized the so-called 'status quo' resulting from some islands and reefs of China's Nansha islands being illegally occupied by other countries.

She called on the US side to respect China's national sovereignty and rights and interests, stop making irresponsible remarks that incite tension and antagonism, and do more that are truly conducive to maintaining regional peace and stability.

"That's also good for its own interests," She said.