WASHINGTON – China has exercised “utmost restraint” in the South China Sea and seeks peaceful solutions over disputed territory, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Friday.
He said Beijing has sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and people there feel the need for enhanced defenses given heavy US military patrols.
China, which says its intentions are peaceful, claims most of the South China Sea, through which about $3 trillion worth of trade passes every year.
The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia among several neighboring countries also claim parts of the sea, which has vast oil and gas deposits and rich fishing grounds.
Wang said that while Asia belonged to the people of Asia, China did not seek a closed continent or to create “a new order” or hegemony.
He told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, where he is attending the UN General Assembly, that his country was not seeking to overtake the United States as the pre-eminent world power, saying Beijing wants global harmony.
Referring to recent works of US scholars who claim China is stepping up efforts for hegemony, Wang said: “I want to tell you very clearly that this is a serious strategic misjudgment.”