China blasts Clinton’s maritime venture
By Kathrin Hille in Beijing

Published: July 30 2010 17:44 | Last updated: July 30 2010 17:44

China’s military has condemned a US intervention in the long dispute over maritime borders in the South China Sea, less than a day after Beijing said it had conducted a large naval exercise in the area.

Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, angered Beijing after she joined a call at an Asian regional security forum last week for a resolution of the sovereignty dispute over the Spratly Islands and maritime borders in the South China Sea. She called the sovereignty issue a “leading diplomatic priority”.

E
Lex: Renminbi internationalisation - Jul-28.China imports widen US trade gap - Jul-14.Solid US earnings trump China worries - Jul-13.US farmers cash in on Chinese demand - Jul-12.US welcomes loosening of renminbi peg - Jul-09.China rules out ‘nuclear option’ on T-bills - Jul-07..But on Friday, in its first official response to Mrs Clinton’s comments, China’s military said it opposed the “internationalisation of the South China Sea issue”.

The language was moderate compared with comments from some military scholars and state media over the past week. A military spokesman also said that China’s navy would “respect the freedom of the passage of ships or aircraft” through the South China Sea.

Analysts questioned this assurance on Friday, pointing to repeated clashes between Beijing and Washington over the movement of US surveillance vessels in the area.

Defence experts said Beijing intended to ensure that the anger over Mrs Clinton’s call last week did not escalate and damage bilateral ties any further.

“China has treated relations with the US as the first priority for years now. The two sides have always made sure things don’t escalate,” said Teng Jianqun, a security expert at the China Institute of International Studies.

The scale of the People’s Liberation Army’s naval manoeuvres in the South China Sea this week were unusually large, according to state media reports.

The defence ministry said six units from the PLA navy’s three fleets took part, and both Chen Bingde, chief of the general staff, and Wu Shengli, naval commander, oversaw them.

Chinese military analysts said, however, that the exercises were unlikely to be related directly to Mrs Clinton’s remarks or to a joint US-South Korean naval drill earlier this week, which was also criticised by Beijing.
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