With China’s massive and nearly completed reclamation and infrastructure development activities in the South China Sea, Beijing on Friday said the situation in the disputed territory is “stable.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying downplayed a move by Japan to extend air patrols into the South China Sea as a counterweight to a growing fleet of Chinese vessels. Admiral Robert Thomas, Commander of the Seventh Fleet of the US Navy, welcomed Japan’s move, saying that allies, partners and friends in the region will see the Japanese more and more as a stabilizing function, and that operations by Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces in the South China Sea will make sense in the future.

Lee-Brago, P. (2015, February 1). Situation in South China Sea stable, says Beijing. Philippine Star, p. 9.