Edited by pyropura at 13-1-2017 01:13 AM
China muted after Tillerson vows islands blockade
BEIJING (AFP) -
secretary]Tillerson's comments, during his confirmation hearing in the US senate, are the latest salvo the Trump team has aimed at Beijing. "We're going to have to send China a clear signal that, first the island building stops, and second, your access to those islands is also not going to be allowed," Tillerson told the panel. Beijing has fuelled regional tensions by turning tiny, ecologically fragile reefs and islets in the strategically vital South China Sea into artificial islands hosting military facilities. The former ExxonMobil chief said China's building in the disputed waters and its declaration of an air defence identification zone over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea were "illegal actions". -- 'Conflict with American interests' -- ?The South China Sea situation has cooled down and we hope non-regional countries can respect the consensus that it is in the fundamental interest of the whole world,? he said. The US has military power in Asia but relatively few ships, he said, making a blockade unrealistic, and "it's very difficult to imagine the means by which the United States could prevent China from accessing these artificial islands without provoking some kind of confrontation". Tillerson said the US should affirm to Taipei it will live up to its commitments to Taiwan, which could require the US to intervene militarily if China attacks the island, but added he did not know of any plans to alter the "One China" policy. "China has proven a willingness to act with abandon in the pursuit of its own goals which at times has put it in conflict with American interests. We have to deal with what we see, not what we hope," Tillerson said. But the former oil executive said disagreements with Beijing on some issues should not preclude "productive partnership" on other matters. While Trump and his surrogates have repeatedly blasted Beijing over trade policy and the South China Sea, official reaction to the incoming president has been measured, with the foreign ministry emphasising the positive aspects of bilateral ties between the world?s two largest economies.
http://www.france24.com/en/20170112-china-muted-after-tillerson-vows-islands-blockade
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