[By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

Once again the United States has been fanning the flame of the South China Sea disputes. While calling on China to show restraint to calm tensions on Monday, Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for East Asia, said China's oil rig had left a legacy of anger and strained relations with Vietnam. The US has proposed "freezing actions that change the status quo". What a farce.

Portraying itself as a mediator, the US tries to make China take all the blame for the escalating tensions in the region.

The truth is, China in dealing with marine disputes, has demonstrated maturity and patience, especially compared with the other parties involved in the territorial disputes, such as Japan in the East China Sea and the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea.

The indisputable bottom line is that China has sovereign rights over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters, and the US is partial to Vietnam and the Philippines, so it sides with them.

The Chinese maritime authorities recently announced that the offshore oil rig completed its operation near the Xisha Islands, and is now back in operation off the coast of Hainan Island.

The two-month Xisha operation was in Chinese waters and China has the right to authorize, conduct and regulate economic activities in the sea areas it has jurisdiction over.

Apart from administrative management, China has shown good faith in seeking to resolve the marine disputes.

To prevent relations with Vietnam from deteriorating further, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi paid a goodwill visit to Hanoi in June to clear the air. Vietnam should respond with goodwill of at least the same degree. At the World Peace Forum in Beijing in June, Yang conveyed the message that the Chinese government wants to resolve the differences and disputes with the countries concerned peacefully. However, instead of agreeing to negotiate, Vietnam said it will take China to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea over its drilling activities. So clearly it is Vietnam that lacks the sincerity to resolve the dispute.