WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On June 16, 2015, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said China will build military and civil facilities after completing land reclamation on the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which has been the subject of territorial disputes between China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
“We also reiterated… our concerns about China’s behavior in the South China Sea, and stressed that substantive diplomacy is the proper way to resolve disputes among the claimants in this region.”
Earlier on Monday, the official explained, State Department representatives led by Deputy Secretary Tony Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Ministry leaders to discuss security issues that are most likely to drive “strategic mistrust,” including tensions around Chinese expansion in the South China Sea.
The agenda will include a range of economic and security issues including military-to-military relations, human rights, cybersecurity, missile defense, countering pandemics like Ebola, maritime security, climate change, energy, nuclear nonproliferation and policies related to Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan, the official added.
