China accused the United States of being the “biggest source of instability” in the South China Sea after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Beijing’s actions in the region as “dangerous and unlawful” during the recently-concluded ASEAN summit in Laos.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning pointed to the US deployment of the Typhon Mid-Range Capability missile system in the Philippines, claiming it disrupts regional peace and stability.
“The deployment of offensive strategic weapons at other countries’ doorstep by a nuclear power seriously disrupts regional peace and stability, undermines other countries’ legitimate security interest, and contravenes people’s aspiration for peace and development,” Mao said.
“China firmly opposes the US’s deployment of the land-based Mid-Range Capability missile system in the Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, whatever its form,” she added.
Mao said China has the maritime situation “under control.”
“China and parties to the South China Sea have every capability and wisdom to properly address disputes through dialogue and consultation…We hope that relevant parties will see the high sensitivity and harm of this issue.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs clarified that the final document during the ASEAN Summit was a Chairman’s Statement prepared solely by Laos and not a joint statement from all member countries.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo explained that while negotiations were held to draft a joint ASEAN statement, the member nations were unable to reach a consensus.
As a result, Laos issued its own statement independently, he said.
“So we had no real say on the language,” Manalo said.
“There were negotiations on a joint ASEAN statement but no consensus. Hence, Laos issued a statement on its own,” he added.
The chairman’s statement did not directly address the South China Sea tensions, which dominated discussions during the three-day ASEAN Summit.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “China accuses US as ‘biggest source of instability’ in SCS.”