BEIJING: China has expressed “firm opposition” to remarks made by US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis during a regional defense summit over the weekend, after he criticized Beijing’s “militarization” of the South China Sea. “China has indisputable sovereignty over the (Spratly) Islands and their adjacent waters,” Hua said, referring to reefs and islets in the South China Sea where Beijing has built installations that could be used by its military. China’s behavior in the South China Sea, which is claimed in part by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, has sparked broad concern in the region. Beijing is involved in a simmering territorial row with Tokyo over the disputed Senkaku Islands, claimed by China as the Diaoyus. “Remarks made by the Japanese side, which confuse right and wrong, are not worth refuting,” Hua said in her statement.

Source: Manila Times June 05, 2017 05:15 UTC