Beijing accused Washington of using the China-Philippines territorial dispute as a pretext to « encircle China. »
Washington should not seek to change Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday, on the heels of a standoff between Chinese and U.S. treaty ally, the Philippines, in a contentious part of the South China Sea.
China, which claims most of the energy-rich, strategically important sea, on Friday sent two dozen coast guard and marine militia ships to attempt to obstruct a Philippine Coast Guard mission en route to resupply a small contingent of Philippine marines based in a grounded ship off the uninhabited Second Thomas Shoal.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are preparing for a long-delayed meeting on Wednesday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ forum in San Francisco. China’s maritime aggression near the Philippines, one of the oldest American allies in the region, is among the issues Biden is expected to raise with his counterpart, along with the restoration of leadership-level communication between the two countries’ militaries.
