South China Sea

Russia and China have asked India to clear its stand on the South China Sea dispute, saying that New Delhi's different stands on the issue have created confusion.

Beijing landed a military plane on a disputed South China Sea reef it has built up into an artificial island, officials said on April 18, in the first confirmation of such a flight.
 
An air force plane landed on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys archipelago on April 17 to evacuate sick workers, a news report posted online by China's defence ministry said.
 

The United States on April 14 revealed for the first time that American ships have started conducting joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, a somewhat rare move not done with many other partners in the region.
     

China is "strongly dissatisfied" with a Group of Seven (G-7) statement calling for restraint in disputed waters, the foreign ministry said April 12, as worries grow in Asia over Beijing's territorial and military ambitions.

"China is strongly dissatisfied with relevant moves taken by G-7," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement.

China has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the disputed islands it controls in the South China Sea, Taiwan and U.S. officials said, while Chinese FM Wang Yi on Feb. 17 sought to downplay reports that China had positioned anti-aircraft missiles.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou defended his visit to a disputed island in the South China Sea on Jan. 28 despite criticism from the United States and protests from the other claimants as tensions swirl in the region.

China said on Nov. 22 that the United States was making political provocations with its patrols in the disputed South China Sea, as tensions around the strategic waterways mount.

Beijing said on Nov. 18 US President Barack Obama should not get involved in disputes in the South China Sea, after he demanded an end to artificial island building in the hotly contested region.

The patrol by a U.S. warship close to islands China controls in the South China Sea harmed mutual trust between China and the United States and caused regional tensions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his U.S. counterpart in a call. 

Divisions within Asia over China's claims in the disputed South China Sea spilled over on Nov. 4 to a meeting of U.S. and Asian defense ministers, where China insisted the group make no public mention of the strategic waters in a joint declaration intended as a public display of unity.