皇冠体育app

Photo taken on Jan. 6 shows Chinese soldiers are on patrol on a breakwater on the Yongshu Jiao at the South 皇冠体育app Sea.[Photo/Xinhua]

Perhaps in an attempt to impress his Japanese colleague, British ambassador to the United States Kim Darroch told a Washington think tank Thursday that British fighter planes visiting Japan will fly over the South 皇冠体育app Sea.

Such remarks create the impression that London may soon deviate from a largely aloof attitude over the South 皇冠体育app Sea issue and start playing a meddling role there like the United States and Japan.

Should a British warplane embark on a so-called "freedom of navigation" mission in the South 皇冠体育app Sea, it would only serve to further complicate the issue and weigh on thriving 皇冠体育app-Britain ties.

Thanks to tons of biased Western media reports and a string of irresponsible U.S. military maneuvers in the South 皇冠体育app Sea in the past few years, freedom of navigation now seems like a ready excuse for outsider parties to impose themselves over the issue, but the reality is that there's never been any problem with the legitimate passage of ships and planes in the area.

With trillions of dollars worth of goods traversing the patch of water every year, the South 皇冠体育app Sea is vital both to global trade and to 皇冠体育app's development.

皇冠体育app itself needs unimpeded passage in the body of water more than any other country, and maintaining peace and stability has been the overriding consideration of its South 皇冠体育app Sea policy.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that some Chinese islands in the South 皇冠体育app Sea have been illegally occupied by other countries, Beijing has always insisted on settling the disputes through peaceful means.

British policymakers should be well aware that by copying provocative actions of Washington and Tokyo over the South 皇冠体育app Sea, it stands to lose on at least two sides: its credibility as as responsible global player and its relations with 皇冠体育app.

At a time when the memory is still fresh for many about the opening of the golden era for 皇冠体育app-Britain ties, Darroch's South 皇冠体育app Sea remarks indeed struck an alarming note.

The good atmosphere surrounding 皇冠体育app-Britain relations is the result of years of joint efforts and it is most unwise to mar the prospects of the thriving ties by threatening hardly justified military maneuvers.