This time, it wasn’t the defense chief speaking the US President Barack Obama himself weighing in on territorial disputed in the South China Sea.
Obama on Monday urged regional powers, particularly China, to respect the law and stop “throwing elbows.”
He warned about disregard for existing laws a move away from established ways of resolving dispute pointing to several Asian regional powers face off over maritime borders.
“If you start losing that approach, and suddenly conflicts arise and claims are made based on how big the country is or how powerful its navy is instead of based on law, then I think Asia will be less prosperous and the Pacific region will be less prosperous,” he said.
Though, US does not hold any territorial claims in the South China Sea but as a “Pacific power” Washington called on China and other nations to end reclamation.
“We think that land reclamation, aggressive actions by any party in that area are counterproductive,” said Obama.
The US government has vowed to protect navigation rights in the region.
While turning to China, the US president adopted a metaphor saying, “it may be that some of their claims are legitimate, but they shouldn’t just try to establish that based on throwing elbows and pushing people out of the way.”
H/T: ABS-CBN News; Photo lifted from Google.