Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry Photo: VCG

The US is the biggest driving force behind the militarization of the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, noting that China is determined to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial security, and will continue to work with other countries in the region to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea. 

"We urge some in the US not to make groundless accusations against China. Don't act rashly!" Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Monday's media briefing.

The Nansha Islands are China's territory. China's construction activities on its own territory serve civilian needs in the South China Sea, provide more public goods and services to the region and the international community, and fulfill China's international responsibilities and obligations, Wang said.

China's deployment of necessary territorial defense facilities on relevant islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands is an exercise of the right of self-preservation and self-defense granted by international law.

It falls within China's sovereignty and is justified, reasonable and lawful, which has nothing to do with militarization, and is not fundamentally different from other countries' deployment of defense facilities on their own territory, according to Wang.

The US frequently uses militarization as an excuse to strengthen its military deployment and activities in the South China Sea and maintain its maritime hegemony. 

"We have seen American warships and warplanes carry out frequent and intense activities in the South China Sea all year round, engaging in various military exercises and close-in reconnaissance, deliberately raising tensions around the South China Sea. The US is the biggest driving force behind the militarization of the South China Sea," Wang noted.

For a long time, the US has tried its best to make use of South China Sea issues to sow discord among regional countries. Some fanatics in the US have even called for a military strike against China in the South China Sea.

Facts have proven that the US has become the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea. The international community and countries in the region must be highly vigilant and resolutely oppose the sinister plot of some warmongers in the US of destabilizing the South China Sea and East Asia, Wang said.

The response came after the US State Department accused China of breaking its promise not to militarize the Nansha Islands, in a US statement released on Sunday without any evidence.

Global Times