Tag: China and US spat over South China Sea

Stability in the South China Sea – a region disputed by China and Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam – dominated discussions at a series of meetings held in Myanmar focused on the ASEAN and East Asia region. The meetings saw a prickly verbal exchange between US and China, with Beijing forcefully rejecting a US proposal for countries to refrain from “provocative” acts in the South China Sea

In Naypitaw, US Secretary of State John Kerry worked hard to ease tensions between China and its neighbours on the issue of the South China Sea Islands.