Situation in South China Sea stable, says Beijing

MANILA, Philippines - With China’s massive and nearly completed reclamation and infrastructure development activities in the South China Sea, Beijing on Friday said the situation in the disputed territory is “stable.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying downplayed a move by Japan to extend air patrols into the South China Sea as a counterweight to a growing fleet of Chinese vessels.

Admiral Robert Thomas, Commander of the Seventh Fleet of the US Navy, welcomed Japan’s move, saying that allies, partners and friends in the region will see the Japanese more and more as a stabilizing function, and that operations by Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces in the South China Sea will make sense in the future.

“The situation in the South China Sea is stable. China maintains good neighborly and friendly relations with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries,” Hua said in a press conference in Beijing.

The United States slammed China’s problematic behavior and the “wholesale” reclamation Beijing has undertaken in the South China Sea, saying it is the source of clear anxiety and instability in the region.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel said in October that the US talked to the Chinese about the importance of practical behavior, whether it has to do with the movement of coast guard or military ships, or with the promulgation of unilateral rules that purport to exercise authority over what is regarded by others either as contested space or as international space.