June 16, 2015

"China's foreign minister said his country planned to end construction on an island in the South China Sea, but that the decision had nothing to do with recent criticism or pressure from the United States. 'We (already) had to stop the (building) process because the construction will be completed within days,' Wang Yi told an Asia Society delegation in Beijing Tuesday. Any suggestion that American pressure had led to the halt, he said, 'is totally not true.'

Wang also criticized what he called the 'megaphone diplomacy' of the U.S. on the South China Sea, an apparent reference to condemnations issued by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and other American officials and lawmakers in recent weeks. The U.S. and several Southeast Asian nations have been harshly critical of China for expanding several coral reefs through dredging in the South China Sea, and building a runway on one of them, actions that the Americans fear may be used for military operations. For his part, Foreign Minister Wang repeated Chinese claims that the building was 'lawful, legitimate, and reasonable,' and pronounced himself 'baffled' by critics who have slammed China for the construction."

Read more:

http://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/chinas-top-diplomat-us-stop-megaphone-diplomacy