Two warships attached to a naval frigate flotilla under PLA's Southern Theater Command carry out coordination drill during a maritime combat training exercise on April 21, 2021. Photo: China Military Online

The US has become the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea by arbitrarily sending advanced military vessels and aircraft to the region as provocations. The country itself is not qualified to make any remarks on the issue of the South China Sea, said a Chinese envoy.

The remarks were made by Dai Bing, charge d'affaires of China's permanent mission to the UN, at a Security Council open debate on maritime security on Monday. 

The US has been stirring up trouble out of nothing, arbitrarily sending advanced military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea as provocations and publicly trying to drive a wedge into regional countries, especially countries concerned, he said. 

On July 12, without authorization from the Chinese government, the US guided missile destroyer USS Benfold illegally trespassed into China's territorial waters of Xisha, which was tracked, monitored and warned away by the maritime and aerial forces organized by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command. July 12 was the day that coincided with the fifth anniversary of the so-called South China Sea Arbitration ruling.

The US itself does not join United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but considers itself a judge of the Convention, pointing fingers at other countries and interfering arbitrarily, said Dai. "It has no credibility on maritime issues."

The country's hype of the so-called South China Sea Arbitration ruling in the Security Council is entirely politically motivated. The ruling violated the principle of state consent and tried ultra vires and there were obvious errors in the determination of facts and application of the law and its award was invalid and without any binding force, he said. 

Dai said China firmly opposes what the US said on the issue of the South China Sea at the Security Council which was not the right place to discuss the matter.

The joint efforts of China and ASEAN members maintain general stability in the South China Sea, where all countries enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, said Dai.

China and ASEAN members are committed to fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and strive to reach the code of conduct in the South China Sea at an early date, he said.

Global Times