Beijing urges US to cease Huangyan Island 'smears'

China on Friday urged the United States to stop using maritime issues as a pretext to smear China, after Washington criticized Beijing's establishment of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to an Aug 8 statement by the US State Department concerning the reserve and Filipino fishermen.

"Huangyan Island has always been China's territory. It is within China's sovereign rights to establish and administer the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve," Guo said.

The US statement said Washington rejected what it called China's "ongoing attempts to enforce" the reserve and accused China of denying Filipino fishermen access to their "traditional fishing ground", citing the so-called "2016 South China Sea arbitration award".

"The US is in no position to point fingers, and the 'South China Sea arbitral award', which is illegal, null and void, provides no solid ground for the US to speak for the Philippines," Guo said.

China urges the US to stop playing up tensions and instigating confrontation in the South China Sea, stop citing the illegal and invalid "award", and stop using maritime issues as a pretext to smear China, he added.

China formally established the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve in Hainan province in September last year. The reserve spans 3,523.67 hectares.

On Aug 1, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the China Coast Guard, and the Hainan provincial government jointly issued 16-article management measures for the reserve.

Under the rules, a routine patrol system will be established to promptly investigate and handle violations in accordance with the law.