WASHINGTON, D.C.: Donald Trump’s secretary of state pick Rex Tillerson hit out at China Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) during his Senate confirmation hearing, warning the US would send a “clear signal” that the Asian giant must abandon its artificial islands in the South China Sea. “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first the island-building stops, and second, your access to those islands is also not going to be allowed,” Tillerson told a US Senate committee. Beijing has fuelled regional tensions by turning tiny, ecologically fragile reefs and islets in the strategically vital South China Sea into artificial islands hosting military facilities. Apart from the Philippines, other countries that have overlapping claims in the South China Sea are Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia. ‘Wait and see’Malacañang on Thursday said it would adopt in the meantime a “wait-and-see” approach on Trump’s policy on the South China Sea dispute.

Source: Manila Times January 12, 2017 17:09 UTC