China calls US report on South China sea 'misleading' and to 'confuse right with wrong'

China on Thursday reacted sharply to the study published by the United States over the international boundary dispute in the South China Sea and called the study "misleading". Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin during a press briefing on Thursday said that the US report on international law is to "mislead the public, confuse right with wrong and upset the regional situation."

 "The study of the US side misrepresenting international law is to mislead the public, confuse right with wrong and upset the regional situation. As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China sets great store by the Convention and earnestly observes the Convention rigidly and responsibly," said the Chinese FM. 

"The US refuses to join the Convention but styles itself as the judge. It wantonly misrepresents the Convention and adopts double-standards out of selfish gains. Such political manipulation is irresponsible and undermines international rule of law," the Foreign Minister Spokesperson said in a statement.

China says "no studies could hamper its boundaries"

Slamming the Biden administration and the recent study, he reiterated China has full rights in the South China sea and no "studies could hamper its boundaries". "Our sovereignty and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea are established in the long course of history and are in line with the UN Charter, UNCLOS and other international law," Wang Wenbin said.
It is important to note the study released by the US State Department on China's South China Sea raised serious questions over several other strategically important locations which have been long claimed by Beijing. 

"The Department's Limits in the Seas studies are a longstanding legal and technical series that examine national maritime claims and boundaries and assess their consistency with international law," according to the US State Department Press Release.

Notably, this was not the first time when a study released by the US raised serious questions over its claims in the South China Sea. Earlier, a study called-- "150th in the Limits in the Seas series", concludes that China's asserts unlawful maritime claims in most of the South China Sea, including an "unlawful historic rights" claim is "unjustifiable".

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: ANI/AP