Unic Press UK: The United States government has issued another note of caution to the People’s Republic of China over what it has often described as the militarization of the South China Sea.
The U.S. has repeatedly exercised what is called “freedom of navigation” on the South China Sea, insisting that the disputed Sea are international waters.
Speaking on Saturday during the annual security summit Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said: “Despite China’s claims to the contrary, the placement of these weapons systems is tied directly to military use for the purposes of intimidation and coercion. There are consequences that will continue to come home to roost, so to speak, with China, if they don’t find a way to work more collaboratively with all of the nations who have interests,” the ABC News reported.
In a reaction to the statement issued by the U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis, Lieutenant General He Lei of the Chinese military said Saturday during the security summit that: “There are soldiers that are stationed there and there are weapons that are deployed there. It is a symbol of China’s sovereignty. The weapons have been deployed for national defense.”
About the South China Sea
There are massive oil and natural gas reserves on the South China Sea. And it is a major transit route for goods, with an estimated $5 trillion [£3.7 trillion] worth of goods passing through this area every year.
The People’s Republic of China claims most of the parts of the South China Sea, and overwhelmingly controls the disputed Paracel Islands. The other disputed parts of the South China Sea are the Spratlys, Scarborough Shoal.
A number of countries – Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei – which are close to the South China Sea, make counter claims to ownership of parts of the South China Sea.
