US says Spratly Islands are being 'militarised' by China

China “uses these militarised outposts as platforms of coercion to assert control over waters to which Beijing has no lawful maritime claim, Ortagus said. “They serve as staging grounds for the hundreds of maritime militia vessels and China Coast Guard ships that regularly harass civilian craft and impede legitimate law enforcement activities, offshore fishing, and hydrocarbon development by neighboring states.

China denies militarising the region, saying the island developments are intended to increase maritime safety as well as assert Chinese territorial claims. It accuses the U.S. of militarising the area by sailing its ships nearby Chinese outposts in “freedom of navigation operations” and through other actions.China is holding new military exercises in the South China Sea amid an uptick in tensions between the Asian giant and its Southeast Asian neighbors and the U.S.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have also engaged in push-back against Chinese claims and actions in the area, while progress in talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China over the South China Sea appear at a standstill.The Philippine president received rare praise from critics Wednesday for invoking before the United Nations a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Duterte, who has nurtured close ties with China since taking office in mid-2016, has long been criticised for refusing to immediately and forcefully demand Chinese compliance with the ruling. It found China’s claims on virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds inconsistent with international maritime law.

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