Our territorial rights in South China Sea is in line with UN Charter: China

China and the US have been at loggerheads since the start of pandemic on several issues pertaining to the information sharing on Covid-19.

China on Wednesday said that its territorial claims in the South China Sea is legitimate and were established throughout a long course of history which is in line with the international law including the United Nations Charter.

"China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea have been formed in a long historical process and claimed by all Chinese administrations, which are also in line with UN Charter & UNCLOS. Accusations of China's lawful claims are groundless," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a press conference.

This remark came after US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo tweeted on June 2 that the US has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General to protest China's "unlawful South China Sea maritime claims".

Pompeo wrote: "We reject these claims as unlawful and dangerous. The Member States must unite to uphold international law and freedom of the seas."

China and the US have been at loggerheads since the start of a pandemic on several issues pertaining to the information sharing on Covid-19.

Reaffirming China's stand, Zhao Lijian has said, "China has never delayed releasing coronavirus information. China's timeline on Covid-19 information sharing is clear and open to the world. It can stand the test of time."

Meanwhile, the United States on Wednesday said it will block Chinese airlines from flying into or out of the US starting on June 16, The New York Times reported.

China must use diplomacy to settle border issues with India: US House panel

We see increasing forces of China moved up to the north of India on the Line of Actual Control there on the Indian border, says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

China has moved up its forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said, asserting that authoritarian regimes take these kinds of actions.

Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.

"We see even today increasing forces of China moved up to the north of India on the Line of Actual Control there on the Indian border," Pompeo told Marc Thiessen and Danielle Pletka of AEI's 'What The Hell Is Going On' Podcast.

Meanwhile, US House Committee on Foreign Affairs has strongly urged China to use diplomacy and existing mechanisms to resolve its border issues with India.

"I am extremely concerned by the ongoing Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border. China is demonstrating once again that it is willing to bully its neighbours rather than resolve conflicts according to international law," Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"Countries must all abide by the same set of rules so that we don't live in a world where "might makes right." I strongly urge China to respect norms and use diplomacy and existing mechanisms to resolve its border questions with India," Engel added.