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[sludgehound]

MW China lashes out over U.S. plan on South China Sea
21:45 ET
By Eva Dou and James Hookway
Beijing condemned on Wednesday a proposed U.S. military plan to send aircraft and Navy ships near disputed South China Sea islands to contest Chinese territorial claims over the area.
"We are severely concerned about relevant remarks made by the American side. We believe the American side needs to make clarification on that," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
The unusually strong comments came after U.S. officials said Defense Secretary Ash Carter had asked his staff to look at options to counter China's increasingly assertive claims over disputed islets in the South China Sea . Those options, officials said, include flying Navy surveillance aircraft over islands and sending U.S. Navy ships within 12 nautical miles of reefs that have been built up in recent months around the Spratly Islands.
"We always uphold the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea ," Ms. Hua said. "But the freedom of navigation definitely does not mean the military vessel or aircraft of a foreign country can willfully enter the territorial waters or airspace of another country. The Chinese side firmly upholds national sovereignty and security."
Ms. Hua said Beijing urged "relevant countries to refrain from taking risky and provocative action."
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com (http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-lashes-out-over-u-s-plan-on-south-china-sea-1431508182?mod=mktw).
- Eva Dou ; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]
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