China hits back at US over South China Sea remark

Day after the United States called for an 'immediate and lasting halt' to China's land reclamation activities in the disputed areas of South China Sea, Beijing has denied that its actions were 'out of step' with international rules and issued a six-point response.

Resorting to history to back China's sovereignty in the South China Sea, spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the nation did not require land reclamation as justification. She also said that the construction work being carried out on the Spratly islands was well within the Chinese sovereignty and did not target any country, reported Xinhua.

Instead, Chunying described China's actions as being aimed at better serving regional countries in sailing, disaster relief and fishing in the area.

Noting that the code of conduct in the South China Sea should be negotiated between China and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Beijing reminded the US that it had nothing to do with the matter.

The spokeswomen urged Washington to stick to its promise of not taking sides in territorial disputes and stop making remarks that hampered regional peace and stability and US-China relations. 

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