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 China's rapid reclamation around seven reefs in the Spratly
archipelago of the South China Sea has alarmed other claimants, such
as the Philippines and Vietnam, and drawn growing criticism from
U.S. government officials and the military.
While the new islands will not overturn U.S. military superiority in
the region, workers are building ports and fuel storage depots and
possibly two airstrips that experts have said would allow Beijing to
project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.
"Where we get concerned with China is where it is not necessarily
abiding by international norms and rules and is using its sheer size
and muscle to force countries into subordinate positions," Obama
told a town-hall event in Jamaica on Thursday ahead of a Caribbean
summit in Panama.
"We think this can be solved diplomatically, but just because the
Philippines or Vietnam are not as large as China doesn't mean that
they can just be elbowed aside," he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the United
States had no right to accuse anyone of pushing anyone else around.
"I think everyone can see very clearly who it is in the world who is
using the greatest size and muscle," she told a daily news briefing
in Beijing on Friday.
The United States needed to do more to show that it really wanted to
play a constructive, responsible and positive role in the South
China Sea, and should not ignore the efforts China and Southeast
Asian nations have made to try and address the dispute, Hua added.
China claims most of the potentially energy rich South China Sea,
through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have
overlapping claims.
China, which has asked Washington not to take sides in the row, says
it is willing to discuss the issue with individual countries
directly involved in the dispute.
However, it has refused to participate in an international
arbitration case filed by the Philippines in The Hague over the
contested waterway.
CHINA MOUNTS DETAILED DEFENSE
On Thursday, Hua sketched out plans for the islands in the Spratlys,
saying they would be used for military defense as well as to provide
civilian services that would benefit other countries.
While she gave no details on their defensive use, Hua said that the
reclamation and building work was needed partly because of the risk
of typhoons in an area with a lot of shipping that is far from land.
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It is rare for China to give such detail about its plans for the
artificial islands.
"The relevant construction is a matter that is entirely within the
scope of China's sovereignty. It is fair, reasonable, lawful, it
does not affect and is not targeted against any country. It is
beyond reproach," Hua said.
All but Brunei have fortified bases in the Spratlys, which lie
roughly 1,300 km (810 miles) from the Chinese mainland but much
closer to the Southeast Asian claimants.
Asked about Hua's comments, U.S. State Department spokesman Jeff
Rathke called the land reclamation "destabilizing" and said it was
"fuelling greater anxiety within the region about China’s intentions
amid concerns that they might militarize outposts on disputed land
features in the South China Sea".
"We very much hope that China would recalibrate in the interests of
stability and good relations in the region," he told reporters in
Washington.
Western and Asian naval officials privately say China could feel
emboldened to try to limit air and sea navigation once the reclaimed
islands are fully established.
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea does not legally allow for
reclaimed land to be used to demarcate 12-nautical-mile territorial
zones, but some officials fear China will not feel limited by that
document and will seek to keep foreign navies from passing close by.
(Additional reporting by Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING, David Brunnstrom in
TOKYO, Greg Torode in HONG KONG and Arshad Mohammed in WASHINGTON;
Writing by Dean Yates; Editing by Paul Tait and Jeremy Laurence)
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