U.S. Rejects Most Chinese Maritime Claims in South China Sea

HONG KONG—The U.S. declared its official opposition to a swath of Chinese statements in the South China Sea, in an unusually immediate obstacle to Beijing’s attempts to assert command in the strategic waters.

Saying the plan change on Monday, Secretary of Condition Mike Pompeo characterized the decision as an effort and hard work to uphold intercontinental law against what he known as a “might tends to make right” campaign by China to coerce and intimidate its Southeast Asian neighbors into ceding their pursuits.

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