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Don’t meddle, China tells India, US
China is accusing the USA of a serious military provocation following the flight of an American B-52 strategic bomber over a Chinese-controlled man-made island in the South China Sea. It also reiterated that it would do whatever is necessary to protect China’s sovereignty.
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“This behavior is a serious military provocation which complicates the general situation in the South China Sea, (contributing) to the militarization of the region”, the ministry said in a statement.
On Saturday, when China protested over the flight of B-52 bomber close to Spratly islands, the USA said it would launch an investigation into the matter to check whether the flight had violated China’s air space. Washington has said that global law does not give China any territorial rights around the new, artificially built islands.
Military personnel on the island and reef went on high alert and warned the aircraft to leave, the Chinese defence ministry said in a statement.
A USA official told ABC News that two aircraft had left Guam on an overnight roundtrip mission to the Spratly Islands.
Mr Le said China is ready for negotiations and has already signed the “Declaration of Conduct in the South China” with ASEAN nations which lays down norms of peaceful resolution to the issue.
In this context, the neighbours of China have legitimate concerns, as China hopes that each island lets it claim the waters within a radius of 12 nautical miles as its own – a precarious development. “We once again urge the United States to seriously reflect upon and correct its mistakes, take effective measures to prevent similar, unsafe and provocative actions and stop any move that may undermine China’s sovereignty”. “China has always supported freedom of navigation and we are for creating a code of conduct to ensure smooth navigation in that region”, he said, asking external powers not to meddle in the issue.
The Foreign Ministry said it had “lodged solemn representation with the United States” over the incident.
China’s latest protest comes amid a simmering dispute over Washington’s approval of the first arms package offered to Beijing’s self-governing rival Taiwan in four years.
The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen sails in the Pacific Ocean in a November 2009 photo provided by the US Navy.
A formation of the Nanhai Fleet of China’s Navy on Saturday finished a three-day patrol of the Nansha islands in the South China Sea.
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On Wednesday, Beijing filed a formal diplomatic complaint and the Foreign Ministry said it would take “necessary measures, including the imposition of sanctions against companies participating in the arms sale to Taiwan”. The reef is claimed by both China and the Philippines, but China controls it and has reclaimed land on it.