{"id":20855,"date":"2021-08-09T23:56:46","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T23:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/09\/us-and-china-clash-at-un-over-south-china-sea-disputes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:00:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:00:42","slug":"us-and-china-clash-at-un-over-south-china-sea-disputes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/08\/09\/us-and-china-clash-at-un-over-south-china-sea-disputes\/","title":{"rendered":"US and China clash at UN over South China Sea disputes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 The United States and China clashed over Beijing\u2019s actions in the South China Sea<\/a> at a high-level U.N. Security Council meeting on maritime security Monday that also put a spotlight on attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and drug and human trafficking in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country holds the council presidency this month and chaired the virtual meeting, warned that the world\u2019s oceans and seas which are the common heritage of all nations and peoples are facing various threats. He pointed to piracy and terrorism, the erection of trade barriers by some countries, and challenges from climate change and natural disasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to China\u2019s increasingly assertive claims<\/a> to parts of the South China Sea, despite the ruling of an international tribunal five years ago rejecting its claims, by warning that conflict there or in any ocean \u201cwould have serious global consequences for security and for commerce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the South China Sea, we\u2019ve seen dangerous encounters between vessels at sea and provocative actions to advance unlawful maritime claims,\u201d he said. \u201cThe United States has been clear its concerns regarding actions to intimidate and bully other states lawfully accessing their maritime resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the latest incident last month, China\u2019s military said it chased a U.S. warship from an area that it claims in the South China Sea, a statement the U.S. Navy called false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blinken stressed that it is \u201cthe business, and even more the responsibility,\u201d of the United States and all other countries \u201cto defend the rules that we\u2019ve all agreed to follow, and peacefully resolve maritime disputes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s deputy ambassador, Dai Bing, shot back by accusing the United States of becoming \u201cthe biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea\u201d and calling its \u201chype\u201d in the Security Council \u201centirely politically motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called the arbitration tribunal\u2019s award to the Philippines \u201cinvalid and without any binding force,\u201d claiming that \u201cthere were obvious errors in the determination of facts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t