China Blasts Obama over Military Muscle in South China Sea
Local Editor
Beijing hit back Friday at US President Barack Obama's criticism of Chinese construction in the disputed South China Sea, arguing that it is Washington that has greater military "muscle".
The Chinese foreign ministry's retort came a day after Obama warned that Beijing was "using its sheer size and muscle to force countries into subordinate positions", amid reports of controversial Chinese land reclamation efforts.
"The US leader talked about China's 'sheer size and muscle', but one can also see clearly who has the biggest size and muscle in the world," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing.
She called on Washington to "genuinely make efforts to safeguard peace and stability" in the region.
Beijing asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including areas near the coasts of other states, using a line that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all have overlapping claims.
Manila, among the most vocal critics of Beijing's actions in the region, on Friday appealed to the international community to intervene conceding it and other countries were powerless to stop China's construction of the artificial islands.
"We are asking the international community to tell China that what it is doing is wrong, and to ask China to stop this reclamation work," Philippine foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose said.
Manila believes Beijing is rushing the reclamation to undermine a United Nations ruling expected next year on a Philippine challenge to its claims, Jose said.
"We think China has a plan and they think they have the means to do it and they can actually do it. So that's why they're doing it," he said.
On Thursday, Obama waded into the debate, telling a town hall meeting during a visit to Jamaica that Beijing should not push around countries with which it is in dispute in the South China Sea.
"Just because the Philippines or Vietnam are not as large as China doesn't mean that they can just be elbowed aside," Obama said.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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