Sullivan Comments on China’s Increased Militarization of the South China Sea
ANCHORAGE, AK – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today in reaction to reports that China has installed weapons systems on contested islands in the South China Sea.
“Despite promises to halt cyber-attacks and discontinue its theft of U.S. intellectual property, and assurances that it will not militarize the South China Sea, China’s provocative and destabilizing actions speak far louder than their empty words. The United States can and should continue to engage with China to the benefit of both of our countries. Regardless of attempts by Chinese leaders to militarize and assert control over the South China Sea – a critical global commerce and transportation route – the United States can and should continue to fly, sail, and operate there and wherever international law allows. And we should be doing so with our many allies worldwide. Freedom of the Seas has been a core national interest of the United States since our country’s founding, as well as a foundational principle of the post-World War II international order established and safeguarded by the United States. All nations, but particularly China, have benefited from this. I agree with and support the recent statements by Commander of U.S. PACOM Admiral Harris who said, ‘We will not allow a shared domain to be closed down unilaterally no matter how many bases are built on artificial features in the South China Sea…..We will cooperate when we can but we will be ready to confront when we must.’”
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