On February 23, 2016, when having talks and meeting the press with Secretary of State John Kerry of the US in Washington D.C., Foreign Minister Wang Yi expounded China's stance on the South China Sea issue.

Wang Yi expressed that the South China Sea islands have been China's territory since ancient times. China has right to safeguard its own sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights and interests. Meanwhile, China insists on managing and controlling differences through dialogues and resolving disputes through negotiations. As the largest littoral state in the South China Sea, China has capacity and confidence to work with the ASEAN countries to continuously maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and earnestly safeguard navigation freedom that all countries are entitled to in line with the international law.

Wang Yi expressed that Secretary of State John Kerry and I agreed that the disputes should be peacefully solved through negotiations. China and the US also agreed to have further communication on maritime issues so as to enhance mutual understanding and avoid misjudgment.

With regard to the question concerning China's deployment of radars on the Nansha islands and reefs, Wang Yi expressed his hope that the media should not only pay their attention to whether China deployed radars, but more importantly, to the guided missile destroyers and strategic bombers that intrude in the South China Sea from time to time, and that they should not only focus on what China has deployed, but be aware of various radars and military facilities that have been deployed on the Nansha islands and reefs by countries illegally occupying China's islands and reefs for decades.

Wang Yi stressed that demilitarization in the South China Sea does not concern only one country and should be jointly achieved by all parties. To realize this, we hope to see less provocation of close-up military reconnaissance and less showing off of advanced weapons in future.