China: US Senate resolution may further complicate sea row

MANILA, Philippines - China on Thursday condemned the US Senate for passing a resolution that urges all claimant nations to exercise restraint in the highly contested South China Sea.

"China expresses its strong opposition, and has already made stern representations with the US side. We urge the relevant senators to respect the facts and correct their mistakes in order to avoid further complicating the issue and the regional situation," China's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Related: US Senate calls for peace in West Philippine Sea

American Senator Robert Menendez, co-sponsor of the unaninmously passed Resolution 167, also said that the disputes "are not about the past" but about the region's future development.

China, however, insisted that the US should not get involved in its disputes mainly with the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan.

"The above resolution proposed by a minority of senators took heed of neither history nor facts, unjustifiably blaming China and sending the wrong message," the statement said.

The Philippine government, meanwhile, welcomed the US Senate's intervention, which it says has advocated a settlement of the issue without coercion and intimidation.

"While the US has no direct stake in the dispute, it is important for the US that freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce, and the observance of international laws are guaranteed," Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said in a statement on Friday.

Cuisia also thanked Menendrez for the show of leadership in the initiative to author the resolution.

The US Seante resolution cites the Philippines efforts in elevating the matter to an international arbitration court and quotes Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario as saying that the country has "exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime dispute with China."

"The Senate strongly urges that all parties to maritime and territorial disputes in the region exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would undermine stability or complicate or escalate disputes, including refraining from inhabiting presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, and other features and handle their differences in a constructive manner," the resolution says.