China state media says Harris seeking to divide Asia

US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc pose at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam on Aug 25, 2021. - AP

HANOI/SHANGHAI (Reuters): Chinese state media on Wednesday (Aug 25) accused US Vice President Kamala Harris of seeking to drive a wedge between China and its South-East Asian neighbours with her comments that Beijing used coercion and intimidation to back its South China Sea claims.

Harris made the comments in a speech in Singapore on Tuesday as part of a seven-day regional visit aimed at pivoting the United States back to Asia and countering China's growing influence.