Advertisement
Donald Trump’s national security adviser calls Beijing’s South China Sea claims ‘ridiculous’
- Robert O’Brien says China’s claim to nearly the entire ocean that Southeast Asian countries claim part of has been ‘rejected by all major countries’
- O’Brien says high-level meetings of ‘the quad’, comprising the US, Japan, Australia and India are being planned for September and October
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser called Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea “ridiculous” and announced upcoming meetings with his counterparts in Japan, India and Australia to strengthen defence partnerships in the region.
Robert O’Brien said China’s claim to nearly the entire ocean that Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries claim part of has been “rejected by all major countries, all seafaring countries”, in an online discussion with Paula Dobriansky, vice chair of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Centre for Strategy and Security.
“It’s been rejected by [a tribunal for] the Law of the Sea, and now China’s engaged in military exercises in these waters that are, that they consider domestic, and which are by no stretch of the imagination domestic,” he said, referring to a 2016 ruling by a tribunal at The Hague, which determined China had no “historic rights” over the sea.
Advertisement
“The United States is not going to back down from its long-held principles that the world’s oceanways and international waters should be free for navigation, and the same with space and with air rights in international airspace.”
00:51
China says military drills in South China Sea target no particular country
China says military drills in South China Sea target no particular country
Beijing rejected the tribunal’s ruling and has described it as having “no binding force”.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x