China strikes back hard at Trump, calls South China Sea provocations 'pointless' in a firm rebuke

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Wednesday condemned the United States over its remarks on the 12 October South China Sea incident, after the US State Department criticised China for using water cannons on a Philippine fishing vessel near Thitu Island. "The US has disregarded facts, maliciously smeared and accused China's legitimate and lawful actions to safeguard its rights, and even attempted to threaten China with the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty. This has once again exposed the US's ill intention of deliberately provoking confrontation and disrupting the South China Sea," Lin Jian told reporters at a daily press conference in Beijing.