“The Chinese military will pay very close attention to related developments, and firmly safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”.
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U.S. military forces aboard Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) manuevre on South China Sea near the shore of San Antonio, Zambales during the annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games with Filipino soldiers in northern Philippines April 21, 2015.
China has accused the military alliance between the United States and the Philippines of reflecting a “cold-war mentality”, state media reported Friday, after the allies announced they would continue joint patrols in disputed seawaters.
Malaysia and Brunei are also laying claim to territory in the South China Sea that they say falls within their economic exclusion zones, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“Our dispute with China can never be used as a reason to allow another country to violate our sovereignty”, Renato Reyes, secretary general of the left-wing Bayan (Nation), an umbrella group of Philippine nationalist and anti-U.S. organizations, said in a statement, reports Reuters.
With a key Asia Pacific ally at his side, Carter’s visit aboard the USS John C. Stennis underscores persistent complaints from the USA and its allies in the region about China’s military build-up in the South China Sea. “What’s new is the context of tension which exists which we want to reduce”.
“In reality, what the U.S.is probably talking about is military freedom of navigation and safety”.
This will be the second time that Carter has flown onto a carrier while it is embarked in the South China Sea. “But the cause of that is Chinese behavior, not America”.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea – an worldwide waterway through which a third of the world’s cargo passes.
“The US has been taking all kinds of actions to provoke China, forcing it to take counter-actions that will result in an escalation of the situation”, Su Hao, an worldwide relations expert at Beijing’s China Foreign Affairs University, told The Associated Press.
“As long as we remain steadfast in that commitment as we have for decades, we will continue to ensure the Philippines remain secure, and the Asia-Pacific remains a region where everyone can rise and prosper for generations to come”, he said.
The Philippines has sought worldwide arbitration at the Hague to help resolve the South China Sea dispute, with a ruling expected within months. Confirmation of the visit followed appearances by Carter in India and the Philippines, where he announced efforts to strengthen United States military ties with China’s neighbors.
Carter added US and Philippines have agreed to upgrade infrastructure at five locations in the Philippines.
Mr. Carter’s visit to the Philippines comes after a three-day visit to India, during which the two countries made a decision to reach military logistics supply agreement to get access to each other’s bases.
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Several war helicopters from the American and Philippine troops also took part in the simulated war, particularly US Marine “s Cobra attack helicopters and several Philippine S211 type helicopters from the Philippine Air Force”.
