Washington warns Beijing over South China Sea ‘provocations’

The United States has once more warned China against taking "additional provocative actions" in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Colin Willett, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, told Reuters in a Wednesday interview that Washington had "a lot of options" to respond to any move by China in the disputed region.

The warning comes ahead of an international court ruling on the South China Sea that is expected to largely reject Beijing's broad territorial claims there, according to Reuters.

The State Department official voiced skepticism over China's position that many countries backed its territorial claims in the sea.

The court case was brought against Beijing by the Philippines, a US ally in the region, which along with a number of other nations, claims sovereignty to some territory there.

The US official also said that a court ruling was expected possibly within weeks.

"We, the United States, do have very clear national interests in the area," Willett said. "We have an interest in upholding our defense commitments and our security partnerships."

The US has for long accused Beijing of militarizing the region.

China, on the other hand, has repeatedly slammed the US military build-up in the South China Sea, saying it is Washington, and not Beijing, which is in fact militarizing the disputed waters by conducting patrols there.

The South China Sea and patches of islands there have become a source of tension between China, the US, and some regional countries who are seeking control of trade routes and mineral deposits.

The disputed islands are claimed by countries such as Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, which all have overlapping claims with China over the territories in the South China Sea, including the Paracels, Spratly Islands, Pratas Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

Washington and China’s rivals have been accusing Beijing of attempting to take advantage of the situation and gradually assert control in the South China Sea.

Beijing, however, rejects the allegations and accuses Washington of meddling in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea serves as a crossing for more than $5 trillion worth of annual maritime trade.

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