The intercept took place on the very same day that Secretary of State John Kerry met with China’s Xi Jinping to discuss rising military and economic tensions between the two powers.
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Andrei Chang, founder of Kanwa Asian Defence, a military magazine, pointed out that the shoal is so different from other reefs in the Spratly chain because of its proximity to the US military bases in the Philippines which opened in 2016 eight of its military bases to American forces.
He said no South China Sea claimant should engage in unilateral actions that could be deemed by somebody else to be provocative and therefore problematic.
The South China Sea territory has been long debated, with Beijing laying claim to most of the region. But they repeatedly stressed their desire for friendly, productive relations between the world’s two biggest economies. At a press conference during that meeting, Carter said the USA would not be deterred from maintaining a military presence in the region reiterating “America’s determination to, and resolve to, fly, sail, or operate wherever worldwide law allows”.
For its part, Washington vowed to boost its savings rate and investment, especially in infrastructure. The American side promised to pursue “fiscal sustainability”, a reference to narrowing its yawning budget deficits. The commitment to persist with reforms to make China’s economy more balanced included specific steps for opening its financial sector wider to USA companies, Lew told reporters.
Tensions between United States and China have risen as China has sought to assert its control in the face of competing territorial claims from countries in the region.
Beijing also affirmed that it saw no reason for a sustained weakening of the yuan against the dollar, Lew said.
President Xi addresses the annual China-US strategic talks.
“It’s not scary to have disagreements”, Xi said.
The U.S. and China agreed on the need to fully implement the sanctions against North Korea “to realize the goal of North Korea choosing the peaceful path of denuclearization”, Kerry said. It is one of the world’s most important waterways.
The governments reaffirmed their commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight, Kerry said.
An airstrip there would add to China’s network of runways and surveillance sites that US Pacific Command chief Harry Harris said previous year would create “a mechanism by which China would have de facto control over the South China Sea in any scenario short of war”.
The Foreign Ministry’s statement refers to a slew of two-way agreements signed in the past few decades, showing that Manila has betrayed a consensus on resolving their disputes through bilateral talks.
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The Department of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on China’s latest statement, saying the country would wait for the United Nations tribunal’s decision, which is expected this year.
