US Senators Call on Pentagon to Sanction China

Two US Senators John McCain and Jack Reed want the US Department of Defense not to invite China to the major RIMPAC exercise next year.

It is as a punishment for Beijing's illegal construction of artificial islands in the East Sea.

US Senator John McCain. Photo: EPA

McCain (R., Arizona) and Reed (D., Rhode Island), who are currently the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the top Democrat on the committee, respectively, wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter on May 21 asking the Pentagon chief to reconsider inviting China to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) joint military exercise in Hawaii in 2016.

The Wall Street Journal quoted the proposal of these two prestigious Senators as affirming: “Because of China's provocative actions in the East and South China Seas, our administration should consider policy options that make China pay a price for their behavior…”.

Also on May 21, the US Navy released for the first time images and videos of the flight of the P-8A Poseidon, which was warned eight times by China on May 20, thereby showing Beijing's illegal construction and reclamation activities in the East Sea.

Senator John McCain called on Washington to continue to release more intelligence documents to help the public see the extent of China's land reclamation in the East Sea. "These videos clearly show the alarming extent to which Beijing is strengthening its sovereignty claims," ​​McCain said.

Not stopping there, Mr. McCain, along with two senators, Brian Schatz and Dan Sullivan, presented a draft resolution condemning China's illegal actions in building artificial islands. A joint statement by the three senators criticized the above actions as violating international law and threatening to undermine stability in the region./.

According to VOV