China's Embassy in Myanmar on Sunday accused the United States of "outrageously smearing” the country and driving a wedge with its Southeast Asian neighbors over the contested South China Sea and Hong Kong, as tensions mount between the superpowers.
Responding to U.S. claims Beijing was undermining the sovereignty of its neighbors, the Chinese Embassy said U.S. agencies abroad were doing "disgusting things" to contain China and had showed a "selfish, hypocritical, contemptible, and ugly face."
The United States last week hardened its position on the South China Sea, saying it would back countries in the region that challenge Beijing’s claim to about 90 percent of the strategic waterway.