China has denied the charge of building military bases on the islands of the South China Sea and reiterated its commitment to allay concerns through dialogue. China’s reaction came through President Xi Jinging during his recent visit to the United States, even as new reports are claiming that China has already completed the work of a huge runway in one of the South China Sea islands.
The Chinese leader, on his first state visit to the United States, denied any militarisation was taking place on the islands. This statement comes amidst reports that the South China Sea will be one of the core issues at the summit level bilateral talks. Reports also pointed out that U.S was highly exercised over the militarisation and artificial island-building spree by China in the region, which Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and other South East Asian countries have also taken issue with.
President Obama in his remarks, did refer to some “candid” discussions on the Asia-Pacific disputes, reported Reuters. However, in a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden, no hard references were made to the South China Sea issue. Instead, the focus was on cooperation in climate change mitigation and cyber security.
“Relevant construction activity that China is undertaking in the Nansha Islands does not target or impact any country and there is no intention to militarise,” Mr Xi said, using the Chinese name for the disputed Spratly island.