Beijing slams US claims it is 'militarizing' South China Sea

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01:18

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday slammed US claims that China is "militarizing" the South China Sea.

"The US is like a robber playing a cop," said spokesperson Hua Chunying at a regular briefing.

"The US military presence in the South China Sea is greater than that of China and other countries that surround the seas combined," Hua said. "China is not the first to deploy weapons in the South China Sea, nor is it engaging in the largest number of military activities."

"It is our legitimate right to deploy military facilities for defense in our territorial islands. Who on earth is militarizing the South China Sea? The answer speaks for itself."

Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, speaks at a regular briefing in Beijing, May 31, 2018. /VCG Photo

US Defense Secretary James Mattis said Tuesday that the US will continue "a steady drumbeat" of naval exercises to challenge China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The foreign ministry also responded to Washington's renaming of US Pacific Command to US Indo-Pacific Command, saying no matter what the name is, the US should play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

She also discarded a comment by outgoing commander Harry Harris that China was a challenge for Washington in the region.

''A country who is obsessed with hegemony will always feel insecure that other countries might take it away," Hua said. "China has been stressing that it will never seek hegemony and expansion. I wonder whether the US can do the same.''