BEIJING, July 30 -- The US calls itself an "arbitrator" of the South China Sea disputes, but actually a disruptor of regional peace in the South China Sea, a destroyer of regional cooperation, and an instigator of international relations, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense on Thursday.
Ren made the remarks when commenting on US recent moves in South China Sea, including the statement on US Position on Maritime Claims in the South China Sea, the accusation of China's exercises in waters off the Xisha Islands, and the high-profile publicity of its dual-carrier operations in the South China Sea this month.
Ren voiced strong dissatisfaction to the US statement, stating that the US disregarded the history and the objective facts related to the South China Sea disputes, flagrantly violated its own commitment to not taking a stand on the sovereignty of the South China Sea, wantonly and groundlessly accused China, instigated regional state relations. All the US actions have fully exposed its "hegemonic mentality” and double standards.
China urges the US to stop making false remarks, stop taking provocative military actions in the South China Sea, and stop sowing discord among countries in the region, Spokesperson Ren said.
China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters, which is based on sufficient historical and jurisprudential evidence. The waves made by the US in the South China Sea could only make China more firmly "ride the wind and waves" to defend its own sovereignty and security, as well as to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region, Ren stressed.