China can’t dodge its duties over North Korea, South China Sea, says US
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Beijing must pull its weight on diplomatic issues and stop militarising the South China Sea by building artificial islands
China cannot use its economic power to dodge its international responsibilities in the South China Sea and in deterring North Korea, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned on Monday.
Tillerson said after holding talks with the Australian government that Washington wanted a productive relationship with Beijing, but said China must pull its weight on important diplomatic issues.
“We desire productive relationships,” he said after annual discussions with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Sydney.
“But we cannot allow China to use its economic power to buy its way out of other problems, whether it’s militarising islands in the South China Sea or failing to put appropriate pressure on North Korea.
“They must recognise that, with a role as a growing economic and trading power comes security responsibilities as well.”
President Donald Trump, who frequently denounced China on the campaign trail, has turned to Beijing to help rein in North Korea’s weapons programme, prompting concerns among Asian allies that the US might go easy on the South China Sea territorial dispute.