Beijing unfazed by sabre-rattling
Washington will bar China from its artificial, militarised islands in South China Sea, says Trump’s choice for secretary of state
Beijing — China offered a muted response on Thursday after Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, warned that the US would stop it from using its artificial islands in the South China Sea. Tillerson’s comments, made during his confirmation hearing in the Senate, are the latest salvo the US president-elect’s team has aimed at Beijing. "We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island building stops, and, second, your access to those islands is also not going to be allowed," Tillerson said. Beijing has fuelled regional tension by turning tiny, ecologically fragile reefs and islets in the strategically vital South China Sea into artificial islands hosting military facilities. The former ExxonMobil CEO said China’s building in the disputed waters and its declaration of an air defence identification zone over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea were "illegal actions". The Senkaku islands are controlled by Japan. "They are taking territo...
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