The United States has once more warned China against taking “additional provocative actions” in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Colin Willett, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, told Reuters in a Wednesday interview that Washington had “a lot of options” to respond to any move by China in the disputed region.
The warning comes ahead of an international court ruling on the South China Sea that is expected to largely reject Beijing’s broad territorial claims there, according to Reuters.
The State Department official voiced skepticism over China’s position that many countries backed its territorial claims in the sea.
The court case was brought against Beijing by the Philippines, a US ally in the region, which along with a number of other nations, claims sovereignty to some territory there.
The US official also said that a court ruling was expected possibly within weeks.
“We, the United States, do have very clear national interests…