US Secretary Blinken Discusses South China Sea Tensions With Chinese Official, Cites ‘Destabilising Actions’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns over Beijing’s “destabilising actions” in the South China Sea during his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Saturday, reported CNN.

Despite the ongoing tensions, the two sought to keep communications open as they met on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Laos.

Blinken met with Wang in Laos during a trip to Asia against the backdrop of a fierce US presidential election campaign, which has renewed regional scrutiny over what the world will look like with a new administration in the White House, reported CNN.

The two leaders discussed bilateral, regional, and global issues, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement, adding, “The Secretary made clear that the United States, together with our allies and partners, will advance our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Blinken, in the meeting, also discussed China’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base, and warned Yi that the US will take “appropriate measures” if China doesn’t end their support, according to Miller.

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A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry said that Wang told Blinken that the US holds “a wrong perception of China” and urged a return to a “rational and pragmatic China policy.”

However, according to the statement, the two would keep up communication, as reported by CNN.

The first leg of Blinken’s week-long visit, which includes stops in Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Mongolia, comes amid persistent tensions between the US and China, despite efforts by US President Joe Biden’s administration to stabilise rocky relations between the two.

In recent years, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as China’s increasingly assertive moves in the South China Sea and threats towards Taiwan, have soured the Washington-Beijing relationship.

This week, the North American Aerospace Defence Command intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska in what a US defence official said was the first time aircraft from the two countries have been intercepted while operating together, as reported by CNN.

Moreover, China’s continued support of Russia, in its attempt to invade Ukraine, has been a persistent point of tension for the US, its allies, and the Ukrainians.

When NATO leaders met this month, a joint declaration labelled Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, citing China as giving “large-scale support for Russia’s defence industrial base.”

In recent months, the US and the European Union have accused China of bolstering Russia’s defence sector with the export of dual-use goods, and sanctioned dozens of companies in Hong Kong and mainland China for evading the extensive measures imposed on Russia.

Beijing, however, has denied supplying weaponry and said that it keeps strict controls on such goods, as reported by CNN. Beijing has sought to position itself as a neutral peace broker in the conflict, despite its deepening political, economic, and military ties with Moscow and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s openly close friendship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Earlier this week, Wang told visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that Beijing “supported all efforts that contribute to peace”—the first time China has hosted a top Ukrainian official since Moscow’s invasion began nearly two and a half years ago. However, both Putin and Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov have been greeted in Beijing multiple times since the invasion, reported CNN.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Newsx staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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