China slams US, Japan remarks on South China Sea, Taiwan

China has protested strongly against American and Japanese speeches related to issues on the South China Sea, Taiwan and the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.

Hua Chunying, spokesperson for Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated on Sunday that remarks of US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada at the Shangri-La Dialogue were erroneous, irresponsible and "calling white black".

Hua's harsh comments came after Mattis named China's construction in the Nansha Islands, which are also known as the Spratly Islands, as militarising the region of "navigation freedom" and surprisingly noted that the US would provide defence equipment to Taiwan.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters... it was totally within China's sovereignty to build necessary defence facilities on its own territory", said Hua.

Hua further warned the US to stop selling arms to Taiwan and reiterated China's firm opposition to the "Taiwan Relations Act" signed by both the US and Taiwan.

As to the Diaoyu Islands disputes with Japan, the spokesperson claimed that the region has been part of China's territory since ancient times and they would continue patrol and law enforcement activities in the relevant waters.

(GBTIMES)