The United Nations Security Council for the first time on August 9, 2021, held video conference a separate high-level official meeting on the topic of maritime security. Even at the Security Council forum, the United States denounced “bullying acts” in the South China Sea, an accusation clearly aimed at China. The representative of Beijing immediately objected strongly, accusing the US of being a troublemaker.
As noted by the British news agency Reuters, speaking during the meeting, Foreign Secretary Antony Bliken, representing the United States, criticized what he called “bullying” of other countries in the South China Sea, warning that a conflict in that region “will have serious global consequences for security and commerce.”
Recalling the official position of the United States, which considers China’s claims in the South China Sea as inconsistent claims with international law, the US secretary of state emphasized: “When a certain country does not face consequences of ignoring maritime regulations, that would increase impunity and instability everywhere.”
According to Blinken, in the South China Sea (Vietnam calls it the East Sea), there have been many dangerous collisions between ships at sea and there have been provocative actions to promote illegal maritime claims. The US secretary of state emphasized the US’s concern over acts of “intimidation and bullying of other countries into lawfully accessing their marine resources.”
Speaking after the US secretary of state, China’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Dai Bing, did not hesitate to loudly accuse the US of being “the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea” by “arbitrarily sending modern military ships and aircraft into the sea as a provocation and openly provoked hostility among countries in the region.” Not only that, the Chinese diplomat also said that the US does not have any “credibility” to talk about maritime issues because it is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Yesterday’s meeting of the United Nations Security Council on maritime security was attended by 15 current members of the Security Council, including five permanent members (UK, France, USA, Russia and China) ) and 10 non-permanent members, including Vietnam and India, which is the rotating chair in August. During yesterday’s meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally opened the meeting, especially with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
