THE reclamation activities of China in Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, an area within the Philippines鈥� exclusive economic zone in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), has progressed in a few months, latest satellite images showed.
BEIJING, China 鈥� United States Secretary of State John Kerry was to meet Chinese leaders聽on Saturday聽with State Department officials saying he would take a tough line over Beijing鈥檚 island-building in strategic but disputed waters.
The US is weighing sending warships and surveillance aircraft within 12 nautical miles 鈥� the normal territorial zone around natural land 鈥� of artificial islands that Beijing is building in the South China Sea.
Such a move could lead to standoff on the high seas between the world鈥檚 top two economies in an area home to vital global shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.
Pentagon officials last week revealed that China is building artificial islands on top of coral reefs at an unprecedented pace, in a land reclamation effort dubbed a 鈥済reat wall of sand鈥� by one American commander. The rapid construction comes to 2,000 acres (800 hectares), with 75 percent of the total created in the last five months alone.
搁贰础顿:听
Senior State Department officials said ahead of the talks in Beijing that Kerry would 鈥渞einforce鈥� the very negative consequences on China鈥檚 image, on China鈥檚 relationship with its neighbours, on regional stability, and potentially on the US-China relationship鈥� of Beijing鈥檚 activities in the sea.
Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of other littoral states, on the basis of a segmented line dating back to Chinese maps of the 1940s.
One official said Kerry would 鈥渓eave his Chinese interlocutors in absolutely no doubt that the United States remains committed to maintain freedom of navigation鈥�.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a principle that we are determined to uphold,鈥� the official added.
US officials increasingly believe Washington needs to send a clear signal about China鈥檚 dredging activities around the Spratly Islands and other disputed territories, though they want to calibrate any military operation to avoid triggering a crisis.
They also stress that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea only natural land masses create a territorial claim, not artificial islands.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 build sovereignty,鈥� an official said.
But the US has never ratified the convention itself.
Beijing defends the island-building as taking place within its own territory and intended to enhance its ability to carry out international obligations such as search and rescue.
In a commentary ahead of聽Saturday鈥檚聽talks, China鈥檚 official news agency Xinhua said the US was guilty of 鈥渢hinly veiled hypocrisy.鈥�
鈥淭he United States is not a party in the South China Sea disputes, which are between China and other claimants and should be handled by those directly involved,鈥� it said.
鈥淲ashington has no valid grounds whatsoever to point an accusing finger at Beijing over South China Sea. Instead, it needs to look at itself in the mirror,鈥� it went on, accusing the US of seeking 鈥渁 pretext to maintain its hegemonic presence in the region.鈥�
搁贰础顿:听
The US is in the process of a foreign policy 鈥減ivot鈥� to Asia and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott聽on Friday聽denied the Washington planned to base B-1 bombers in his country, saying an American official had 鈥渕isspoken鈥� when he told the Senate the deployment was intended.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to carry out a state visit to the US in September.