WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The highest U.S. diplomat for East Asia will go to China beginning on Sunday, the State Division stated, simply days after President Joe Biden held a summit with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines that targeted on China’s aggressive strikes within the South China Sea.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will journey to China April 14-16, and White Home Nationwide Safety Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran will accompany him, the division stated in a press release.
They may meet with Chinese language officers “as a part of ongoing efforts to keep up open traces of communication and to responsibly handle competitors,” the assertion stated.
The Philippines and China had a number of maritime run-ins final month that included using water cannon and heated verbal exchanges. The disputes middle on the Second Thomas Shoal, dwelling to a small variety of Filipino troops stationed on a warship that Manila grounded there in 1999 to bolster its sovereignty claims.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea, together with the maritime financial zones of neighboring nations. The Second Thomas Shoal is throughout the Philippines’ 200-mile (320-km) unique financial zone. A 2016 ruling by the Everlasting Courtroom of Arbitration discovered that China’s sweeping claims haven’t any authorized foundation.