China: US ships in South China Sea undermine peace

BEIJING (China Daily/ANN): Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday (Jan 26)that the United States' frequently deploying aircraft and vessels to the South China Sea is not conducive to regional peace and stability.

Zhao made the remark at a regular news briefing after a US aircraft carrier group－the USS Theodore Roosevelt accompanied by three warships－entered the South China Sea on Saturday to promote "freedom of the seas".

The US has repeatedly sent warships and aircraft to the South China Sea for military drills and reconnaissance, despite the fact that the South China Sea is more than 13,000km from the continental United States.

The spokesman also reiterated that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and that the US should abide by the one-China principle.

In a statement published on Saturday, the US State Department said its commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and claimed that this contributed to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.

"We urged the US... to prudently handle Taiwan-related issues and refrain from sending wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence' forces to avoid harming China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits," Zhao told reporters.

He said that the root cause of the tension and turbulence in cross-Straits relations is that the island's ruling Democratic Progressive Party refused to recognise the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle.

"It has been colluding with external forces to engage in provocation by seeking 'independence'," Zhao said.

China is firmly determined to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to oppose "Taiwan independence" and external interference, he added.

"We are willing to carry out dialogue and consultation with all parties, groups and individuals in Taiwan on cross-Straits political issues and issues related to promoting the peaceful reunification of the motherland on the political basis of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing 'Taiwan independence', to resolve differences and achieve a consensus." - China Daily/Asia News Network