China has warned the US against supporting the Philippines in the South China Sea as Washington pledged support to its allies in the region during a high-level meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.
“The United States should not use bilateral treaties as a pretext to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor should it support or condone the illegal actions of the Philippines,” the head of Chinese diplomacy Wang Yi told Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, during their interview according to the Chinese channel CCTV.
Joe Biden’s senior adviser, for his part, “recalled the United States’ commitment to defend its allies in the Indo-Pacific region,” according to a press release released Wednesday by the White House.
Jake Sullivan “also expressed concern about China’s destabilizing actions against the Philippines’ lawful maritime activities in the South China Sea,” according to the report released by the US executive.
He also used the now customary American language on the subject, “underscoring the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
– China and Russia –
The US envoy also once again expressed US “concerns” regarding “China’s support for the Russian defense industry.”
Tensions between Beijing and Manila have intensified in recent months and have been marked by a series of confrontations in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims much of the islands and reefs despite a ruling by an international court that had rejected those claims 2016.
On Monday, China announced it had taken “control measures” after a new incident involving Philippine ships near a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, the fourth in a week.
According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Mr Wang told his American interlocutor that China was “firmly committed to protecting its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights over the islands in the South China Sea.”
Japan and the Philippines, two countries allied with the United States, have blamed Beijing for tensions in the China Sea, with Tokyo saying Beijing was the “biggest disturber” of peace in Southeast Asia.
This trip by Jake Sullivan is the first by a White House national security adviser to China since 2016.
According to Washington, it demonstrates a desire to maintain dialogue between the two superpowers, expressed in November 2023 during a meeting between Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in California.
– Military Communications –
The White House said the discussions in Beijing were “sincere, substantive and constructive.”
The US reminded during meetings between Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi of the “importance of having regular and continuous communication” at the military level.
Discussions focused on areas of possible cooperation between the two rival powers, particularly the fight against fentanyl trafficking and against climate change.
On other, more contentious issues between Washington and Beijing, the national security adviser indicated that the Biden administration would continue to make “the necessary decisions to prevent advanced U.S. military technologies from being used in ways that compromise our national security.”
The United States has taken a series of measures limiting China’s access to certain advanced technologies, much to the dismay of Beijing, which sees it as a violation of international trade rules.
Jake Sullivan finally mentioned the matter of Americans “unreasonably detained (in China) or prohibited from leaving the country,” and confirmed that the topic was a “priority.”
