China warns US to stay out of South China Sea dispute

Beijing, June 29(ANI): China has rejected a US Senate resolution criticizing its actions in the South China Sea and calling for multilateral negotiations, saying that the disputes are solely between countries in the region and that Washington was an outside player with no role to play.

"The disputes should be resolved through direct negotiations with the countries involved," Xinhua quoted a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, as saying.

"Freedom of shipping in the South China Sea has never been affected by the disputes, and there has never been such a problem. Others without a direct stake should respect the efforts made by those directly concerned to resolve South China Sea disputes through dialogue and in a peaceful manner," the spokesman added.

China claims that it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the entire South China Sea.

However, recently, Philippines accused China of entering its waters multiple times, and Vietnam accused it of limiting its oil exploration efforts in a part of the sea that Vietnam claims as its economic exclusive zone.

Malaysia and Brunei are also occasionally dragged into the dispute. (ANI)