China urges U.S. to abide by commitment on S China Sea issue

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Wednesday urged the United States to keep its promise not to take a position on the South China Sea issue and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability.

Spokesperson Geng Shuang's comment at the daily press briefing came after U.S. Pacific commander Harry Harris's provocative remarks about readiness to "confront" China in the South China Sea.

Referring to the situation in the South China Sea as "tending toward stability" and "moving in a good direction," Geng called on the United States to keep its promise to not take positions, respect the efforts of countries in the region and do more to contribute to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Geng also slammed back against a senior U.S. defense official's remarks that Taiwan should increase its defense spending, urging the United States to keep its promise to stick to the one-China policy.

China opposes official and military relations between the United States and Taiwan in any form, Geng said.

"We urged the United States to stick to the one-China policy and three Joint Communiques between China and the United States, and to deal with the Taiwan issue in a prudent and discreet manner to prevent China-U.S. ties from being disturbed," Geng said.