China vows to counter violations of its rights and interests in South China Sea

BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson said on Saturday that China will take forceful and effective measures to resolutely counter any actions that stir up trouble in the South China Sea and infringe upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.

Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a media query about recent comments from the Philippines and the United States regarding the Philippines' illegal intrusion into adjacent waters of China's Xianbin Jiao.

The Nansha Islands, including Xianbin Jiao, are an inherent part of China's territory, Wu said, stressing that China's rights protection and law-enforcement activities in the relevant maritime areas are legitimate and professional.

The United States is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to intervene in maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, nor should it use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, Wu said.

He added that the current tensions in the South China Sea stem from the Philippines' repeated provocations and reckless actions, as well as the United States' acts of instigating confrontation and fueling the fire. ■