Beijing’s pursuit of South China Sea resources unlawful: Pompeo

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that China’s pursuit of offshore resources in parts of the South China Sea was “completely unlawful”.

In a statement on Monday, Pompeo denounced China’s claims on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, saying Beijing had “no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region”, report said.

He said the US, which has previously said it does not take sides in territorial disputes, rejected China’s claims to waters off Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Any (People’s Republic of China) action to harass other states’ fishing or hydrocarbon development in these waters – or to carry out such activities unilaterally – is unlawful,” he said. “The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.”