Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said last night that the US needs to clarify its stance on proposed new patrols around the islands being used to establish a claim on key strategic oil and fish stocks.
China urged “the relevant country” to “refrain from taking risky and provocative actions to maintain the regional peace and stability”, Hua told reporters.
U.S. Military Proposes Challenge to China Sea Claims http://t.co/S3vnQvzgIR
— IDCsync (@IDCsync) May 13, 2015
Since 2010, China has been actively asserting sovereignty over what it calls the “Nanyang” Sea, known in the West as the South China Sea, a 5.6 million square kilometre stretch of water, islands and reefs between it, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines.