The U.S. military opposes the use of force by countries locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea and will maintain its presence in the strategic region for years to come, an American commander said Wednesday.
China, meanwhile, lashed out at an American report that said Beijing's secrecy amid its military buildup increased the potential for conflict.
The comments by Adm. Robert Willard, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, follow remarks last month by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that outraged China. Clinton told a conference of Southeast and East Asian ministers that the U.S. had a "national interest" in seeing the territorial disputes resolved through a "collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants."
China claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, which is strewn with disputed groups of islands, including the Spratly archipelago — also claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.
Willard said that Washington does not take sides in the disputes but added it will oppose any use "of force or any forms of coercion to stake these claims on the part of any single nation at the expense of the others."
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By: Brant
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