South China Sea: Beijing urges Washington to refrain from interfering in disputes
- US said China had engaged in ‘dangerous and destabilising actions’ that disrupted freedom of navigation
- Senior officials also discussed PLA drills around Taiwan, and East China Sea, during virtual talks on Friday
Beijing urged Washington to refrain from interfering in China’s maritime disputes with its neighbours in their latest talks that were made public on Tuesday.
Hong Liang, the Chinese foreign ministry’s director general for boundary and ocean affairs, and Mark Lambert, the US State Department’s China coordinator and deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan, held a virtual meeting on Friday.
Beijing said the exercises served as “punishment” for Taiwanese separatist forces advocating for independence and were a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces.
Friday’s meeting touched on the drills, with Washington saying it “shared deep concerns” and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, according to a US State Department statement.