BEIJING: China said yesterday that it wanted to counter Vietnam’s “slander” to the world about what was happening in disputed areas of the South China Sea, after Beijing asked the United Nations to circulate documents outlining its position.
A senior US diplomat called on China to provide evidence to back up its claim to 90 percent of the sea, believed to be rich in energy and minerals.
And the Philippines, embroiled in disputes with China over its claims to parts of the sea, defended a weekend get together on the disputed Spratly Islands of Philippine and Vietnamese servicemen and said another gathering would be staged next year.
Tensions have been running particularly high between China and Vietnam, focusing on China’s positioning of an oil rig near another disputed archipelago, the Paracel Islands, which has led to rammings at sea and anti-Chinese violence in Vietnam.
China and Vietnam have traded accusations about the behaviour of their ships, including the use of water cannon and intentional rammings.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua said that Wang Min, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, had asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a letter to circulate documents outlining China’s position to all UN member states.
Asked about the move, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Vietnam had been stepping up its harassment at sea and trying to vilify China on the international stage.
“On the one hand, they have been increasing their damaging and harassing activities on the scene, while internationally everyone has seen they have been unbridled in starting rumours and spreading slander, unreasonably criticising China,” she told a daily news briefing.
Reuters
