China asks USA to stop ‘provocations’ in South China Sea

APEC members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have rival claims to parts of the sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas resources.

This also includes military facilities to protect the islands and reefs, which are located far from mainland China, he said. The photos show retaining walls and heavy equipment.

Fifth, all countries undertake to exercise and uphold the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea in accordance with worldwide law, he concluded. China, however, since 2009 has imposed a vaguely defined territorial line around most of the sea where an estimated $5 trillion worth of trade passes annually.

Russian-Vietnamese military cooperation is nothing new since the former Soviet Union supplied the Vietnamese with weapons to fight the French colonialists and resist USA military intervention which began in the 1960s.

Last month Washington infuriated Beijing when the USS Lassen guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one land formation claimed by China in the disputed Spratly Islands chain.

“The state-run Global Times newspaper said in a statement back in October that China is “[prepared] for the worst” in the face of USA aggression.

Tensions remain heightened between Washington and Beijing over the Chinese encroachment in the region.

Hong was responding to media reports that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told US President Barack Obama on Thursday, on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Manila, Philippines, that Japan is considering sending its Self-Defense Forces to join USA patrols in the South China Sea.

A US Navy crewman views a computer screen purportedly showing Chinese construction on the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea in this still image from video provided by the US Navy.

Wu Shengli, the commander of China’s navy has called on the U.S.to stop its “provocations” in the South China Sea. While it opposes any USA military incursion, China sees its own military presence there as justifiable.

“If the United States carries out repeated provocations despite China’s opposition, we have the ability to defend our national sovereignty and security”.

“We have made our message clear that Indonesia is always ready to be an honest broker, but to be an honest broker, we must surely be invited”, said senior Foreign Ministry official Derry Aman.

“We stress the importance of resolving disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with worldwide laws including UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)”.

“We look very much forward to cooperating closely with the Philippines to make Their Majesties visit a great success”. And no threat to that trade is as grave as China’s claim to “indisputable sovereignty” over fully 90 percent of the sea.

Mischief Reef was seized by China from the Philippines in 1995 and is claimed by both countries.

According to Reuters Vietnam has also purchased three Russian built attack submarines and has three more on order as part of a $2.6 billion deal agreed in 2009.