BEIJING: Beijing said on Wednesday US President Barack Obama should not get involved in disputes in the South China Sea, after he demanded an end to artificial island building in the hotly contested region.

“The United States should stop playing up the South China Sea issue, stop heightening tensions in the South China Sea and stop complicating disputes in the South China Sea,” Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman, said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

“No country has the right to point fingers at” China’s construction activities, he added.

The rebuke came after Obama met with Philippine President Benigno Aquino in Manila during the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) gathering.

Beijing has turned a series of reefs and outcrops in disputed waters into artificial islands capable of hosting facilities with military purposes, alarming other claimants.

“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.

Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of its Asian neighbours.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2015

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

WITH the situation in KP’s Kurram tribal district already volatile for the past several months, the murderous...
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

PAKISTAN has now registered 50 polio cases this year. We all saw it coming and yet there was nothing we could do to...
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...