Volleyball, football games irk China

MANILA - China has condemned the Philippines and Vietnam's so-called "sports diplomacy." Over the weekend, Filipino and Vietnamese troops played volleyball and football on the Vietnamese-held island of Southwest Cay. They said it was their way of showing that there can be harmony amid tensions in the South China Sea. The Chinese foreign ministry has called the games a clumsy farce. It added the Philippines and Vietnam should stop any behavior that causes trouble. "Don't you think this little strick by Vietnam and the Philippines is at most a clumsy farce? China has irrefutable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and the surrounding waters. We demand that the Philippines and Vietnam stop any behaviour that picks a quarrel and causes trouble, strictly abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and prevent from doing anything that may complicate or magnify the dispute," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news conference in Beijing. MORNINGS@ANC, June 10, 2014