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China warns US not to meddle
The Chinese government reacted angrily to an announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that US might step into a long-simmering territorial dispute between China and its smaller neighbours in the South China Sea.
The Chinese government reacted angrily to an announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that US might step into a long-simmering territorial dispute between China and its smaller neighbours in the South China Sea.
Speaking during a forum of Southeast Asian countries in Vietnam last week, Clinton apparently surprised Beijing by saying the US had a "national interest" in seeking to mediate the dispute, which involves roughly 200 islands, islets and coral outcroppings that are claimed by China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi of China warned United States against wading into the conflict, saying it would increase regional tensions.
"What will be the consequences if this issue is turned into an international or multilateral one?" he asked in remarks published on the Foreign Ministry's Web site. "It will only make matters worse and the resolution more difficult."
