Associated Press, Hanoi, Vietnam – The Obama administration says the peaceful resolution of thorny territorial disputes over islands in the South China Sea is a US national interest and is urging the countries involved to negotiate a solution.
At a regional security forum in Vietnam, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington was concerned that conflicting claims on the Spratly and Paracel island chains interfere with maritime commerce, hamper access to international waters in the area and undermine the UN law of the sea.
Her comments Friday are likely to anger China, the most powerful claimant, but Clinton says the US doesn’t support any country’s sovereignty over the islands. The US, she says, is willing to work with the all the parties to help negotiate an end to the disputes.
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