Chitwan National Park

South China Sea dispute: China summons US diplomat

China has summoned a senior US diplomat in a dispute over the South China Sea.

On Friday, the US state department said Beijing was risking an escalation in tensions by establishing a garrison on one of the disputed Paracel islands.

The Chinese foreign ministry said the US remarks "disregarded the facts" and "sent a seriously wrong signal".

China lays claim to parts of the sea, overlapping areas claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

On Friday, the US state department said it was monitoring the situation in the area closely, adding that China's establishment of a military garrison on Woody Island runs "counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region".

On Saturday, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Kunsheng said the US statement "disregarded the facts, confused right with wrong, sent a seriously wrong signal and did not help with efforts by relevant parties to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea or the Asia Pacific".

There are thought to be significant oil and gas reserves below parts of the South China Sea subject to ownership disputes.

In recent years, tensions over the issue have increased amid growing assertiveness from China over its maritime claims.

Zambian miners kill Chinese manager during pay protest

Miners' pay at Chinese-run mines was lower than at other foreign-owned mines, a 2011 report said
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Zambian miners have killed a Chinese manager by pushing a mine trolley at him during a riot at a coal mine in the south of the country.

A second Chinese was injured, as were several Zambians, during the riot on Saturday.

The workers were on strike at the mine in protest against delays in implementing a new minimum wage.

They were angry their wages were lower than a new minimum of $320 (£205) a month paid to shop workers.

Zambia's minister of labour has gone to the Chinese-owned Collum coal mine in Sinazongwe, 325km (200 miles) south of the capital, Lusaka.

"Wu Shengzai, aged 50, has been killed by protesting workers after being hit by a trolley which was pushed towards him by the rioting miners as he ran away into the underground where he wanted to seek refugee," Southern province police commissioner Fred Mutondo told state news agency, the Zambia News and Information Services.

"He died on the spot while his colleague is in hospital."


Last year, the Zambian government dropped charges against two Chinese managers accused of attempted murder after they fired on miners at the Collum mine during a pay dispute.

Chinese firms own several mines in southern African countries, including coal and copper operations.

Copper mining is one of Zambia's main industries, providing nearly three-quarters of the country's exports; many of the mining companies are foreign-owned, and China has invested more than $400m (£250m) in Zambia.

A 2011 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that, despite improvements in recent years, safety and labour conditions at Chinese mines were worse than at other foreign-owned mines.