Beijing: China has rebuked the powerful G7 group of nations for issuing a communique expressing concern at developments in the South China Sea.
China accused the G7, comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, of "interfering" in South China Sea and East China Sea issues.
The G7's communique - similar to a statement it issued last year - came days after the US Navy conducted its first freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea under the Trump presidency, when the USS Dewey on Wednesday came within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, which is claimed by China. The patrol prompted an angry response from China.
On Sunday, China's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the G7 and "countries outside" should fully respect the efforts made by countries in the region to handle disputes, and stop making irresponsible remarks.
China has claimed the US has no role to play in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
A week ago, China and the Philippines held the first meeting over the two countries' conflicting claims in the South China Sea, in the same week that ASEAN countries met in China and reportedly agreed to a framework for a draft maritime code of conduct.
The draft has not been publicly released.
Mr Lu said China has been committed to "properly handling disputes" through talks with directly related parties.
The G7 communique said its members are committed to "maintaining a rules-based order in the maritime domain based on the principles of international law", and expressed "concerns" about the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea.
The Court for Arbitration at The Hague last year dismissed China's historical claim to territory in the South China Sea based on the "nine-dash line", but the Philippines, which won the legal case, has since favoured talks with China.
Also on Sunday, China's Ministry of National Defence spokesman, Wu Qian, denied US media reports that two Chinese military aircraft had acted unsafely in intercepting a US Orion aircraft on Thursday.
Mr Wu said the Chinese plane had "investigated and verified" a US surveillance aircraft that entered Hong Kong's airspace on Thursday.
The tensions between the US and Chinese militaries comes as the United Nations Security Council is believed to be negotiating a resolution for tougher sanctions against North Korea, which would rely on China's participation to be effective.
However Chinese diplomacy with Russia has also stepped up in recent days, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
