‘Ugly face’: US and China trade barbs in MyanmarThe flags of China, the US and China are displayed in a flag stall at the Yiwu Wholesale Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China, May 10, 2019. (Reuters file photo)China's embassy in Myanmar on Sunday accused the United States of “outrageously smearing” the country and driving a wedge with its Southeast Asian neighbours over the contested South China Sea and Hong Kong, as tensions mount between the superpowers. Responding to US claims Beijing was undermining the sovereignty of its neighbours, the Chinese embassy said US agencies abroad were doing "disgusting things" to contain China and had showed a "selfish, hypocritical, contemptible, and ugly face". The United States last week hardened its position on the South China Sea, saying it would back countries in the region that challenge Beijing’s claim to about 90% of the strategic waterway. The US statement drew parallels between China's actions in the South China Sea and Hong Kong with large-scale Chinese investments projects in Myanmar that the United States warned could become debt-traps, along with trafficking of women from Myanmar to China as brides, and the inflow of drugs from China into Myanmar.

Source: Bangkok Post July 19, 2020 07:52 UTC