“This will not change”, said Richardson, who visited the Chinese North Sea Fleet headquarters in Qingdao and met with fleet commander Vice Adm. Yuan Yubai, the Navy said.
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John Richardson used a visit to the port city of Qingdao on Wednesday to push back against Chinese bluster and deliver a message that the USA will continue to oppose China’s artificial islands and military buildup in the region. Richardson is on a five-day visit to improve mutual understanding and encourage professional interaction.
Up to eight Chinese ships will offer cruises to the South China Sea over the next five years, a state-run newspaper said on Thursday, as Beijing continues to promote tourism to the disputed waters.
During a news conference Wednesday at the Chinese North Sea Fleet headquarters in Qingdao, Richardson said the “freedom of navigation” sails performed by US vessels to reiterate common access to the now built-up waterways will continue. The aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, along with its full strike force of cruisers and destroyers, is now in the South China Sea.
While Asean enjoys “comfortable” ties, the grouping has still gone ahead with 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in South China Sea (DOC) and is now working on the Code of Conduct to cope with the tensions. Beijing has refused to abide by the worldwide verdict and did not participate in the proceedings brought by the Philippines–one of the maritime neighbours with which China has been at the loggerheads over the water body which is not only a rich reserve of natural resources but also a key route of global trading. Zhao Qizheng, dean of School of Journalism and Communication Renmin University of China and former director of The State Council Information Office, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the seminar.
Zheng Yongnian, director of East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore, expressed that the South China Sea dispute has always been a political problem rather than a simple legal problem.
Despite suspicions on both sides, U.S.
Last month China’s President Xi Jinping took an apparent stab at the United States patrols, saying: “We will not show up at other people’s front doors to flex our muscles”.
It’s unclear what specific issues Richardson has discussed, but Wu told him that China had no intention of abandoning its plans to fully equip its newly created islands and would resolutely defend its interests and sovereignty claims in the region.
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Protestors seen shouting slogans outside American fast-food chains such as KFC after an global arbitration court ruled against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, were not patriots and were breaking the law, Chinese media said.
