BEIJING - Beijing said
Wednesday US President Barack Obama should not get involved in disputes in the
South China Sea, after he demanded an end to artificial island building in the
hotly contested region.
"The
United States should stop playing up the South China Sea issue, stop
heightening tensions in the South China Sea and stop complicating disputes in
the South China Sea," Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman, said at a
regular press briefing in Beijing.
"No
country has the right to point fingers at" China s construction
activities, he added.
The
rebuke came after Obama met with Philippine President Benigno Aquino in Manila
during the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) gathering.
Beijing
has turned a series of reefs and outcrops in disputed waters into artificial
islands capable of hosting facilities with military purposes, alarming other
claimants.
"We
discussed the impact of China s land reclamation and construction
activities on regional stability," Obama told reporters after meeting.
"We
agree on the need for bold steps to lower tensions, including pledging to halt
further reclamation, new construction, and militarisation of disputed areas in
the South China Sea."
APEC
members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have rival claims
to parts of the sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas resources.
Beijing
claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of
its Asian neighbours.
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