US Senate deplores China’s use of force at West Philippine Sea

WASHINGTON—The US Senate on Monday deplored China’s “use of force” in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and urged peaceful resolution of territorial disputes there.

The resolution was adopted in response to recent incidents involving Chinese vessels and those of the Philippines and Vietnam, which also claim disputed islands in the potentially resource-rich waters.

Democratic Senator Jim Webb said Southeast Asian countries were worried about China’s “pattern of intimidation.” He said the US has a strategic interest in facilitating multilateral negotiations to settle the disputes.

Webb led a bipartisan group of four senators who introduced the resolution.

The Obama administration also supports multilateral negotiations but has been less strident in confronting China on the issue. The administration has still irked Beijing by saying that peaceful resolution of disputes in the sea, home to key shipping lanes, is in its national security interests.

The Philippines accuses Chinese vessels of making repeated intrusions into Philippine-claimed territories in recent months, while Vietnam says Chinese vessels have hindered its oil exploration surveys in an area 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off its central coast that it claims as its economic exclusive zone.

China claims it has sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, and has said all territorial disputes should be settled one-on-one with its Asian neighbors and that the United States should not be involved.