WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ari.) warned Tuesday that China was “unnecessarily provocative” in saying it will establish a military garrison on disputed South China Sea islands, and called for a multilateral solution to the dispute.
Beijing announced Monday its troops will operate from Sansha in the Paracel Islands, one of two archipelagos in the South China Sea that are claimed by both China and Vietnam. The move is likely to stoke further tensions in the region.
“The decision by China’s Central Military Commission to deploy troops to islands in the South China Sea, which are also claimed by Vietnam, is unnecessarily provocative,” McCain said in a statement.
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