White House: No militarization policy applies to both China, Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The United States recently said that its call for halt in reclamation and construction activities in the South China Sea dispute is not exclusive to China but also applies to the Philippines.

"We don’t want to see construction activities on disputed features. We don’t want to see any kind of militarization of outposts," US Department of State Deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

This statement follows reports that the Philippine Air Force has been transporting construction materials to Pagasa Island in the South China Sea, which the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea, to restart upgrading its airfield in the island.

Toner stressed that the US is expecting to see a deescalation of tensions and refraining from provocative actions among claimant states.

The US State Department official, however, admitted that the US is yet to be given specific details about the plans of the Philippines on the island.

The US earlier expressed its objection over China's launch of its lighthouse operations on Subi Reef in the South China Sea.

READ: China launches lighthouse operation in Manila-claimed reef | China: Lighthouse in Subi Reef serves business purposes

Toner noted that the arbitration case that Manila had filed against Beijing before the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations is the "best route" to resolve the maritime dispute between the two claimant states.

"That’s what we believe is the best route and the most peaceful route, frankly, to resolve any claims or disputes over the South China Sea. And that includes, as you note, rules-based mechanisms like international arbitration, which is what they are pursuing. So we believe that case should move forward in accordance with international law," Toner said.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries earlier released a joint statement, calling on all concerned nations not to conduct massive land reclamation activities in the disputed waters.

China, however, slammed the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and High Representative of the European Union and reminded them that they should not take sides on issues involving territorial disputes.

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