Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said yesterday that China has stopped work on its controversial land reclamation activities in the South China Sea.
Speaking at the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Wang told reporters: “China has already stopped. You just take an aeroplane to take a look."
Funnily enough, when a US Navy surveillance aircraft flew over one of the installations in May, it was warned eight times to “go away” by the Chinese Navy.
At the time, former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell commented that there "absolutely" is a risk of the US and China going to war over the islands at some point in the future.
China has been widely criticized for building artificial islands in disputed territorial waters, parts of which are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. US president Barack Obama in April condemned China for “flexing their muscles” in the region.
US officials expressed skepticism over Wang’s statement and China’s neighbors are also unconvinced.
Philippine foreign ministry spokesman Charles Jose said China had stopped reclamation because it had already completed its new islands, reports Reuters.
"At the same time, China announced they are moving on to Phase 2, which is construction of facilities on the reclaimed features. The Philippines views these activities as destabilizing," Jose said.
Recent satellite images show a 3,000-meter-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of China’s seven new islands in the Spratlys off the coast of the Philippines is almost complete.
Meanwhile, Japan's senior vice foreign minister Minoru Kiuchi "voiced deep concern over unilateral actions that change the status quo and heighten tensions in the South China Sea, including large-scale land reclamation, the construction of outposts and their use for military purposes."
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[Images via ABC]
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