China urges US to abide by South China Sea commitment

China on Wednesday urged the United States to keep its promise not to take a position on the South China Sea issue and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability.

Referring to the situation in the South China Sea as "tending toward stability" and "moving in a good direction", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang called on the US to keep its promise to not take positions in the region and do more to contribute to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Geng's comment came after US Pacific commander Harry Harris's remarks about readiness to "confront" China in the South China Sea, Xinhua news agency reported.

Geng also slammed a senior US defence official's remarks that Taiwan should increase its defence spending, urging the US to keep its promise to stick to the one-China policy.

China opposes official and military relations between the US and Taiwan in any form, Geng asserted.

"We urge the US to stick to the one-China policy and the three Joint Communiques between China and the US and to deal with the Taiwan issue in a prudent and discreet manner to prevent China-US ties being disturbed," he said.

--IANS

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