China: US hyping up South China Sea issue

MANILA, Philippines - China claimed that the United States (US) is only hyping up the South China Sea issue as US President Barack Obama called for a peaceful resolution on the sea dispute.

Obama and leaders from Southeast Asia earlier issued a joint declaration expressing their commitment to keeping peace in the disputed sea, as well as protecting freedom of navigation and overflight.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei on Wednesday stressed that the US is not a concerned party in the issue.

"It should speak and act prudently and create favorable conditions for parties directly concerned to peacefully resolve relevant disputes through consultations and negotiations, instead of exploiting the occasion to hype up the South China Sea issue, sensationalizing tensions, and driving a wedge among regional countries," Hong said in his regular press conference.

Hong insisted that some countries tried to use the US-ASEAN Leaders Summit to hype up the South China Sea dispute.

READ: Obama, SE Asian leaders seek resolution to maritime disputes

"But the majority of ASEAN countries disagreed, believing that it would only undermine mutual trust between regional countries, disrupt or even sabotage the efforts made by regional countries to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea," Hong said.

Hong noted that China is willing to cooperate with Southeast Asian countries in upholding peace and stability in the region. He said that Beijing is also in favor of advancing peaceful resolution of the disputes.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry official added that China is welcoming the commitment of the US and ASEAN to non-militarization in the region.

"Country outside the region shall not show off its military force in the South China Sea nor use force or coercive means to advance its unilateral assertion. Meanwhile, it shall not rope in regional countries to conduct joint military drills or patrols targeting the third party in the South China Sea," Hong said.

Meanwhile, President Benigno Aquino III said that the Philippines has no plans of arming itself with weapons of mass destruction in able to resolve the sea dispute.

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