US sanctions Chinese individuals involved in construction projects in South China Sea

United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Chinese companies and nationals who have taken up "illegal" construction projects in South China Sea as part of Beijing's "expansionist nda." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Department of Commerce has ded 24 PRC state-owned enterprises to Entity List, including several subsidiaries of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

'se individuals will w be inmissible into US'

"Today, Department of State will begin imposing visa restrictions on People's Republic of China (PRC) individuals responsible for, or complicit in, eir large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarisation of disputed outposts in South China Sea, or PRC's use of coercion against Souast Asian claimants to inhibit ir access to offshore resources," re an official statement released by State Department.

se individuals, Pompeo said, will w be inmissible into United States, and ir immediate family members may be subject to se visa restrictions as well.

' CCCC have engd in corruption'

Pompeo said that since 2013 China has used its state-owned enterprises to dredge and reclaim more than 3,000 acres on disputed features of South China Sea, destabilising region, trampling on sovereign rights of its neighbouring countries, and causing untold environmental devastation.

CCCC has led destructive dredging of China's South China Sea outposts and is also one of leing contractors used by Beijing in its global "One Belt One Ro" strategy, he said. " CCCC and its subsidiaries have engd in corruption, predatory financing, environmental destruction, and or abuses across world," Pompeo said.

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Despite protests from United States and or countries, Chinese government has been rapidly building artificial islands since 2013, enabling Communist Chinese Party's (CCP) militarisation of disputed outposts in South China Sea to undermine sovereign rights of US partners in region, department said.

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China claims sovereignty over most parts of resource-rich South China Sea, rejecting counterclaims of Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. US and Chinese diplomatic relations have spiralled after coronavirus outbreak, with President Donald Trump saying Beijing could have done more to restrict virus from spreing globally.

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In recent months, US has stepped up its naval presence in South China Sea, vowing to protect navigation freedom and rejecting China's claims over sovereignty.

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(With ncy inputs)