Tillerson ‘Emphatic’ About Need to Halt South China Sea Buildup
- Top U.S. diplomat delivers message at Asean ministers meeting
- U.S. favors talks to solve territorial disputes in area
Tillerson Calls for Halt of South China Sea Buildup
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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivered an “emphatic” message to foreign ministers from Southeast Asian nations that militarization and construction in the South China Sea must stop while territorial disputes in the area are worked out, a senior U.S. official said.
Tillerson delivered the message -- aimed at China, which has reclaimed thousands of acres of land in the South China Sea in recent years -- during a lunch Thursday with ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Washington.