US blacklists Chinese nationals supporting military activities in South China Sea

The United states on Wednesday imposed visa restrictions on Chinese nationals “responsible for, or complicit in, either large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea”, reported ANI. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “These individuals will now be inadmissible into US, and their immediate family members may be subject to these visa restrictions as well.”

According to a Reuters report, the US also targeted 24 Chinese companies and a number of individuals that it believed were part of ongoing construction and military actions over disputed islands in the South China Sea.

The US Commerce Department, in a separate statement, said, “Two dozen companies played a role in helping the Chinese military construct and militarize the internationally condemned artificial islands in the South China Sea.”

This is Donald Trump administration’s latest efforts to crack down on companies that support Chinese military activities.

The US accuses Beijing of militarising the South China Sea and trying to intimidate Asian neighbors who might want to exploit its extensive oil and gas reserves. 

China claims 90% of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of it, through which about $3 trillion of trade passes each year. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Idrees Ali Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)