US, China diplomats spar over South China Sea at IOC in Maldives

Updated:6 years, 2 months ago

Male (Maldives), Sep 05 (ANI): US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on China in his address at the Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) in Maldives’ Male , leading to a tense environment which saw a Chinese diplomat in the crowd rebutting his claims. He said, “We do not take sides in territorial disputes. What we do believe though is that the great body of water that is called the South China Sea is international water. That the military bases that China has created...(with) literally a great wall of sand in the middle of the South China Sea are all illegal," he said while responding to a question, before Wei Hongtian’s interjection. The moderator tried to defuse the situation by letting China's Ambassador of Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs know that it wasn't the right forum for bilateral rebuttals, but Wei insisted on responding to the US Ambassador's claims. "About the militarisation, freedom of navigation...in the South China Sea, China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands) in the South China Sea and adjacent waters...," he said while strongly reiterating China's territorial claim. "Everyone enjoys the freedom of navigation, nothing happened there," he said as the moderator again tried to stop him from putting any other point forward. Harris was seen shaking hands with Wei after he got off the stage.