Remarks by spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy to Malaysia on the statement of the US Department of State on the South China Sea

On July 13, the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement on the South China Sea issue. The statement deliberately distorted facts about the South China Sea and international laws including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, claiming that “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across the most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, ...Beijing uses intimidation to undermine the sovereign rights of Southeast Asian coastal states in the South China Sea, bully them out of offshore resources, assert unilateral dominion, and replace international law with might makes right.” The US side also demands the Chinese side accepts and recognises the Award of the Arbitral Tribunal in 2016 and instigated the regional countries to oppose the maritime claims from China. In this context, I would like to expound on China’s position and emphasize the following points:

Firstly, China always addresses the South China Sea issue by a dual-track approach and upholds the principle that all countries are equal, no matter big or small.