US Uses South China Sea Issue to Divide China, Other Countries, China's Foreign Ministry Says
© AP Photo / Aaron Favila
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Washington uses the South China Sea issue to divide China and regional countries for its own purposes, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
"Driven by selfish geopolitical calculations, the US has played an extremely ignoble role by supporting and assisting the Philippines in infringing on China’s sovereignty, and by exploiting the South China Sea issue to drive a wedge between China and other regional countries," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also said that it was easily seen who exactly the Philippines foreign policy served. The countries in the region must remain highly vigilant and keep the initiative for peace and stability in the South China Sea firmly in their hands, the statement added.
China has been engaged in decades-long disputes with several Asia-Pacific countries, including the Philippines, over the territorial affiliation of a number of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Significant oil and gas reserves have been discovered on the continental shelf of those islands, including the Paracel Islands, Thitu Island, Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands, with the Whitson Reef being part.
