BEIJING — China said the United States has played an “extremely dishonorable role” in supporting and cooperating with the Philippines, using issues in the South China Sea to provoke relations between China and the region.
“It is very clear to the discerning eye who the Philippines is serving in its foreign policy and for whom it is working in its maritime operations,” China’s foreign ministry said on Monday in response to recent remarks by the Philippine president.
China is willing to continue to work with ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, to manage differences at sea and deepen sea-related cooperation, it said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr on Friday denounced illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
READ: Marcos slams illegal actions in South China Sea |US, China lock horns on Taiwan, Marcos slams Beijing at Asia defense summit
—Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill
