US Assistant Secretary of State Grittenbrink visited China on April 14-16

The US's top diplomat for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Daniel Grittenbrink, will visit China on Sunday, days after President Joe Biden held an event focused on China's talks with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines, the State Department said. Aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

Kritenbrink will travel to China between April 14 and 16. He will be accompanied by White House National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran, the department said in a statement.

They will meet with Chinese officials “as part of ongoing efforts to keep lines of communication open and manage competition responsibly,” the statement said.

The past month has seen several maritime standoffs between the Philippines and China, including the use of water cannons and heated exchanges. The disputes center on the second Thomas Shoal, a small number of Philippine troops inhabiting a coastal warship placed by Manila in 1999 to bolster its sovereignty claims.

China claims the entire South China Sea, including the maritime economic zones of neighboring countries. The second Thomas Shoal lies within the Philippines' 320 km exclusive economic zone. A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded that China's claims had no legal basis.