U.S. rejects China's resource claims in South China Sea

The United States on Monday rejected China's disputed claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea, a move that may further sour the fraught ties between the world's largest two economies. China has offered no coherent legal basis for its ambitions in the South China Sea and for years has been using intimidation against other South Asian coastal states, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. "We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them," said Pompeo, a prominent China hawk within the Trump administration.