China affirmed U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis' remarks of solving the South China Sea issue with diplomatic approaches, said a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry at Monday's routine press conference.
"Through the joint efforts of China and the neighboring countries, the South China Sea area has returned to peace and stability, which is in accordance with the common interests of all countries in the area," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang. He reiterated that countries outside the region should respect the "common interest and common wishes" of the relevant countries.
During a visit to Japan on February 4, the U.S. defense secretary said there is no need for dramatic U.S. military moves in the South China Sea, stressing that pursuing diplomatic efforts is the best way.
In response to Mattis's comment of China "shredding the trust of nations in the region," Lu told CGTN that the U.S. defense secretary "has no point" on the issue.
"If people look back to the past year, through the joint efforts by China and all the neighboring countries in this region, we managed to cool down the situation, and we managed to come back to the right track that this issue should be handled by the directly relevant countries together," said Lu.
He added that the South China Sea issue should be handled by relevant parties which have direct interests through peaceful dialogue and consultations, and it is for China and all the ASEAN countries to work together to maintain peace and stability in this region.
