US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo

“As such, the United States rejects any PRC maritime claim in the waters surrounding Vanguard Bank (off Vietnam), Luconia Shoals (off Malaysia), waters in Brunei’s EEZ, and Natuna Besar (off Indonesia),” Pompeo said in a press statement about the US position on maritime claims in the East Sea (internationally called the South China Sea).

He stressed that any action conducted by China to harass other states’ fishing or hydrocarbon development in these waters – or to carry out such activities unilaterally – is unlawful./.VNA