Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. Photo: VCG

Chinese Foreign Ministry refuted US Vice President Kamala Harris' remarks which accused China of "intimidation" in the South China Sea, saying that what is happening in Afghanistan clearly demonstrates that the US' so-called "rules-based order" is a way to arbitrarily intervene militarily in a sovereign country without being held responsible for the suffering of its people.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the comment on Tuesday in response to the speech that Harris delivered on Tuesday, accusing China of "undermining the rules-based order and threatening the sovereignty of nations" in the South China Sea. 

 "The US can come and go whenever it wants without consulting the international community, or even its allies. It can smear, suppress, coerce and bully other countries at will without paying any price just in order to keep America first -- that is the order the US wants," he said.  

He noted that the current situation in Afghanistan is a reminder to people of the true nature of the so-called US orders. 

"The US always tries to justify its selfishness and bullying with 'rules' and 'order.' But how many people would believe that now?" he asked. 

Harris landed in Singapore on Sunday, the start of her seven-day trip to Singapore and Vietnam to "strengthen relationships and expand economic cooperation" in Southeast Asia amid the Afghan debacle of the Biden Administration.

In a speech in Singapore, she criticized China for "coercion" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea while saying that US' engagement in Southeast Asia and Indo-Pacific is "not against any one country, nor is it designed to make anyone choose between countries."

Global Times