Outsiders urged not to 'make trouble'

Countries in the South China Sea have every justification to be on the alert against countries outside the region that intend to disrupt regional peace, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

"Individual countries outside the South China Sea insist on stirring up trouble in the region, where the situation is becoming calm," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily news conference in Beijing. Lu spoke after British officials said the United Kingdom will dispatch military vessels to the region.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said on Thursday that the UK plans to send a warship to the region next year to conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises, Reuters reported. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also said in Sydney on Thursday that the country would deploy its two new aircraft carriers to the waters.

Commenting on those remarks, Lu said that none of the countries that have played up tensions in the South China Sea is within the region, adding that regional countries are working together to promote peace, stability and prosperity.

Speaking of the "individual countries" that try to disrupt these efforts, Lu said: "No matter what their cover and excuses are, they have a record of interfering in other regions under a solemn excuse but leaving a mess and a human disaster. That is sufficient reason for countries in this region and their people to be highly alarmed."

The spokesman urged countries outside the South China Sea "not to make trouble out of nothing" at a time when China and other countries in the region are committed to consolidating regional peace.

When meeting diplomats from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China and ASEAN should block interference and continue the positive developments regarding the South China Sea issue.

China and ASEAN members in May adopted the framework of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, saying they would stick to peacefully resolving regional disputes through negotiations and consultations.