China says it's sovereign in S. China Sea

BEIJING, July 30 (UPI) -- China asserted its "indisputable sovereignty" over islands in the South China Sea as it conducted a massive live ammunition naval drill in the area this week.

One week after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked of American "national interests" in the area and as the United States finished a massive 4-day naval drill in the Sea of Japan, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng on Friday said China had "indisputable sovereignty" over islands in the South China Sea and the surrounding waters, Earth Times reported.

Geng said China would favor negotiation with "relevant countries" in the resolution of any possible disputes over the South China Sea but objected to the issue being "internationalized," the Times said.

Many of the region's scores of islands are claimed by more than one country. Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines each say they own at least part of the Spratly Islands. Taiwan, China and Vietnam say they have stakes in the Paracel Islands.

Such ownership is important because the Paracels and Spratlys could contain undersea oil and mineral deposits, the Times reported.

China would respect the right of passage across the sea for ships and aircraft from "relevant countries" in accordance with international law, Geng said.

China's official news agency Xinhua said, "During the exercise, warships and submarines from the navy's South China Sea Fleet performed precision strikes on surface targets by firing guided missiles, while surface warships conducted anti-missile air defense operations."

Monday's drill wasn't announced in advance and reportedly also involved combat aircraft.