U.S. Senate deplores China’s use of force over Spratlys claims

WASHINGTON  – The United States Senate has unanimously adopted a resolution deploring China’s use of force against Vietnamese and Philippine ships in the South China Sea.

The US Senate made the move after China showed increasing assertiveness in its claim to the disputed Spratlys group of islands and reefs and the entire South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas.

In its nonbinding resolution, the U.S. Senate urged all parties to refrain from using force to assert territorial claims.

“The Senate … deplores the use of force by naval and maritime security vessels from China in the South China Sea,” the resolution said.