Chinese ambassador warns U.S. against escalating situation in S. China Sea

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai warned Friday that the U.S. overreaction to China's moves in the South China Sea is escalating the situation and will make the region "less stable."

In an interview with Adam Horvath, world editor of the Wall Street Journal, which was published online, Cui said it was "very surprising to us that the U.S. has overreacted to the situation and is escalating the situation."

He cited recent flight of U.S. military reconnaissance planes in the South China Sea with reporters onboard, which he called "clearly an attempt to provoke and escalate the situation."

"And the U.S. is also making a lot of statements, making false accusations against China and taking sides in the territorial disputes in the region. That will really make the situation in the region less stable. So we are worried about such overreaction from the United States," he said.

He noted that China's land reclamation in the South China Sea is only on the islands and reefs under its sovereignty, and the facilities being built are mainly for civilian purposes.

Cui dismissed the U.S. excuse of protecting freedom of navigation for its actions on the South China Sea issue. "I think the fact is we are more concerned than anybody else about the safety and freedom of navigation in the region, because China is one of the major trading countries in the world. We have such a huge volume of imports and exports going through the South China Sea," he said.

"If somebody really wants to see escalation of the tension in the region, then that could be made as excuses for advancing their military deployment, for setting up cold-war type alliances there, and setting up new missile defense systems," he said.

The Chinese envoy said the U.S. actions, including sending an increasing number of military ships and airplanes for close-in reconnaissance activities so close to China, have raised a lot of questions in China.

In responding to the question about the U.S. defense relationships with Australia, the Philippines and other countries in Asia, Cui said that they should not be aimed at China as a rival or even an enemy.

It "will be most counterproductive and even stupid to have such a policy, such an anti-China policy and try to form military alliances that aim against China," he said.

The envoy also defended China's moves to install military facilities in the South China Sea, citing the need to protect the imports and exports of China that will go through these sea lanes.

"So stability in the region is of paramount importance to us. But of course we have to defend the facilities on these islands and reefs. So what we are doing is to provide or build up the necessary facilities for self-defense, not for attacking others," he said.

Cui also stressed that China's growing military strength and maybe presence is driven not by some grand strategy, but by the growing economic and other needs, since China's economy is becoming more and more integrated into the global economy.

Cui said China is ready to shoulder greater international responsibility as there is a growing expectation for China as it develops. "We are fully aware of this growing need for China to take up more responsibilities internationally. We are ready to do that," he said.

"I don't think people should see this as a kind of threat. We are responding to the economic needs. We are responding to growing international expectations. And we are ready to fulfill our international obligations," he said, adding this will open up a good opportunity for China, the United States and others to cooperate as there are so many global issues that cannot be resolved by one country alone. Endi