China denounced remarks by Japan and the European Union about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday (Apr 27) and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion.
Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China Seas and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the status quo by force and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight.
Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the United Nations, also highlighted South China Sea tensions, saying they hindered a critical shipping route and challenged the rules-based international order.
Neither mentioned China – which claims most of the South China Sea and disputes territory with Japan and in the East China Sea – by name.
China‘s deputy UN ambassador Sun Lei called the Japanese remarks “unwarranted”, saying they “completely confound black and white”. He added that the EU representative should “refrain from issuing unsubstantiated and irresponsible remarks on the South China Sea issue”.
“In reality, the situation in the East and South China Seas remains stable overall and the South China Sea stands as one of the freest shipping lanes in the world,” Sun said.
He accused Japan of recently sending vessels “to flex their muscles and deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait”, saying this sent a “gravely erroneous signal” to separatists in Taiwan, a democratically governed island China claims as its own.
Sun also referred to “erroneous remarks” on Taiwan by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year, saying these “have dealt a severe blow to China-Japan relations”.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/un-china-denounces-japan-and-eu-over-south-china-sea-remarks-6085016
