The United States on Tuesday urged China to stop interfering with the freedoms in the South China Sea and end its “routine harassment” of claimant state vessels operating in their exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller issued a statement on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal that nullified China’s sweeping sovereignty claims over the disputed waters.
He urged Beijing to comport its maritime claims with international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) and end its interference with the freedoms of navigation and overflight in the region.
The United States also called on China to halt its disruption to states’ sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage natural resources, according to the statement….