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China Rightful Owner of South China Sea Since Han Dynasty – Admiral

© REUTERS / US NavyChinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in this file still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft and provided by the United States Navy on May 21, 2015
Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in this file still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft and provided by the United States Navy on May 21, 2015 - Sputnik International
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During his speech at a naval conference in London, a Chinese admiral said that the South China Sea belongs to China.

This year’s First Sea Lord/RUSI International Sea Power Conference saw Chinese Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai, commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) North Sea Flee, stated that the South China Sea, as the name indicates, is a sea area that belongs to China.

Yubai’s statement came in response to Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Command and Staff College, Vice Admiral Umio Otsuka, who criticized the land reclamation activities of “certain state actors” in the region, The Diplomat reported.

“The South China Sea, as the name indicates, is a sea area that belongs to China. And the sea from the Han dynasty a long time ago where the Chinese people have been working and producing from the sea,” Admiral Yubai said through an interpreter.

Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan - Sputnik International
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Beijing Restates Non-Acceptance of Negotiation on South China Sea
Otsuka also voiced his concern that commercial fishing fleets are used as maritime militias defending territory claimed by Beijing. “This may provoke, sooner or later, a debate regarding how the conflict between military and maritime militia, if any, should be handled,” he stated.

The Japanese admiral warned that China’s activities could turn the area from “an ocean of peace” to an “ocean of war.”

Admiral Yubai added, however, “I’m firmly convinced that the problems around the South China Sea, so far, can be successfully solved with the joint efforts and consultation of the hosting countries around the South China Sea.”

He also said that China and the United States are working on an agreement for aircraft encounters, which will decrease the likelihood of conflict, according to Yubai.

China claims "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratly Islands and its right to establish military facilities there. Beijing has repeatedly stated the artificial islands will be used primarily for humanitarian purposes.

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