News- World: China has warned Britain against labeling its actions in the South China Sea region “dangerous and destabilizing.”

On a vessel belonging to the Philippines coast guard, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy made the provocative remarks on Monday.

On Tuesday, China said the UK should avoid “provoking tensions.”

Lammy had signed a joint defense framework with his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo on March 8.

The Philippines has similar agreements with Australia, Japan, and the United States.

China asserts ownership over the strategically important body of water in nearly its entirety.

When asked about Lammy’s comments, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said the UK should respect China’s “sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and refrain from provoking tensions or sowing discord over regional disputes.”

“The South China Sea is currently one of the safest and freest maritime routes in the world.”

Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam have conflicting claims in the South China Sea.

The dispute involves the banks, reefs, and islands of the region including the Paracel Islands, Scarborough Shoal, Spratly Islands, and various boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Part of the dispute is also the waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands, which some regard as geographically part of the South China Sea.

An estimated $3.36 trillion worth of global trade passes through the South China Sea annually, which accounts for a third of the global maritime trade.

Some 80 percent of China's energy imports and 40 percent of its total trade passes through the South China Sea.

The countries that border the waterway are also interested in fishing rights, and the exploitation of crude oil and natural gas in the seabed.